


War of Season 3

by FinnHudsonGlee



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 80,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28353480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinnHudsonGlee/pseuds/FinnHudsonGlee
Summary: Post-season 2 finale. Miguel wakes up from his coma, Johnny is a drunk and lost his dojo, Robby is in juvie and Kreese's Cobra Kai has taken over the valley by force. What happens when Miguel, Sam, Daniel, Johnny and some others join forces to take a stand ? Cobra Kai Season 3. Miguel centric. Miguel/Sam
Relationships: Miguel Diaz & Johnny Lawrence, Miguel Diaz/Samantha LaRusso
Comments: 46
Kudos: 32





	1. Chapter 1

Sam felt like her life was tearing at the shreds. Ever since the moment she broke up with Miguel, she felt like there was a metal grip, clenching around her heart like a vice. Robby did nothing to lessen that pain but that one drunk kiss at the party made it temporarily disappear. Miguel was her soulmate. She knew it. Her heart literally stopped when she saw him fall off the balcony and as her and Hawk sat in the ambulance with Miguel on the way to the hospital - the rivalry temporarily forgotten - tears incessantly streamed down her face. She was devastated that she never got to tell him how she felt. He knew it though. She knew he did. He had to.

As she stood in her room that night, she paced around, anxiously awaiting any news about Miguel. She knew that sleep wouldn't come to her, not with Miguel in that hospital, fighting desperately to cling onto his last strands of life. Pain flared to her left arm, which contained three stitches from her altercation with Tory. Tory. That bitch. How could Miguel ever date such a horrible person? Tory was the worst person Sam had ever met. She was absolutely horrible. I mean, using spiked knuckles in a high school brawl? She could've easily killed someone! That was taking No Mercy to an insanely high level! Tory was also the reason Sam wasn't with Miguel. The reason why she went to Robby instead. And if she hadn't gone to Robby, she wouldn't have cheated on him in the first place, causing him to become enraged and kick Miguel off the balcony, and maybe… maybe Miguel would be alive. NO! He was alive! She couldn't think otherwise! It was too painful. That's also why Sam refused to let her parents press charges, or even let the girl get expelled. At the end of the day, it was her fault for dumping Miguel and then kissing him while they were dating other people.

The doctor had said that the next twenty four hours were critical, and they were unsure if he would pull through or not. That was the worst part. The not knowing. It was eating her up inside. At any moment, her phone could ring and it would be the doctors, telling them that Miguel had officially passed.

Eventually, at around 11 at night, Sam couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't just sit in her bed, scowling at her phone. She needed to go see him. She stood up and walked over to the closet, grabbing the first coat she saw. However, because her hands were trembling, the coat accidentally slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor. As she leaned down to pick it up, her hands brushed against something extremely soft. She pulled it out to reveal Senor Octopus, the stuffed octopus that Miguel had won for her in Golf and Things all those months ago. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the toy. It wasn't just a toy. It represented the easier times in Sam's life. The good times. The times before the plagues called Robby and Tory came into their lives. Sam grabbed her coat, the stuffed Octopus, and silently exited her room.

Sam quickly scribbled a note to her parents and left it on the kitchen table. Yesterday, she hadn't informed her parents of her location and it had NOT gone well. She wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. She then tiptoed downstairs. As she cut across the pitch-black living room, the lights suddenly clicked on.

"Going somewhere?"

Sam spun around to see her mom, Amanda, sitting on the ottoman, watching her with an unreadable expression. Sam's eyes widened. It was nearly midnight! Nobody was supposed to be up, least of all her parents!

"M-mom." Sam stammered. "I-I-I was j-just…"

"Going to see Miguel?" Amanda asked. Sam sighed and nodded. Amanda then did something extremely unexpected. She stood up and grabbed her keys. "Well, let's go."

Sam was rooting in the spot in shock.

"W-what?"

Amanda sighed.

"I know how much you care about Miguel, and I can't imagine how hard it is to sit there, not knowing. I don't want you going alone though, so..."

Sam smiled and hugged her mom, and the two of them walked out of the house together. As they headed out the doorway, Amanda turned to her daughter.

"You know, your father isn't going to be happy when he hears that you have a thing for not only a Cobra Kai but, you know… their leader."

Samantha blushed furiously but honestly, she didn't care.

"You won't tell him, right?"

"Your secret's safe with me." Amanda replied, reassuringly. Sam smiled faintly.

"Thanks, mom…"

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Johnny was drowning. There was no other way to put it. 24 hours ago, he had a girlfriend he really cared about (Miguel's mom, Carmen), a biological son in Robby, and he had a mentee/son in Miguel. Now, 24 hours later, he had none of them. Carmen, understandably, wanted nothing to do with him after what had happened to her son, Robby was MIA - nobody knew where in the world he was. And Miguel…

Coaching Miguel over the past year and a half was the best part of Johnny's entire life. The progress that Miguel had made in that time was incredible. He had gone from a shy kid who was getting his ass kicked by random dumpy jocks, to a strong, confident man who stood up for himself and didn't take shit from anyone, whilst still remaining a good person. That was certainly more than Johnny had ever achieved. Johnny thought back to the time when he first told Miguel that Miguel had the potential to be better than he ever was. He was wrong: Miguel didn't just have the potential, he was already much, much better than Johnny ever was, and probably ever would be. He showed honor towards Robby in the fight and look where that got him!

Miguel was the only person in Johnny's entire life who hadn't given up on him and was always there for him, and Johnny always tried to return the favor. Miguel was different to everyone else, different to all of the relationships that Johnny had screwed up in the past: Ali, Carmen, Shannon Keene, Robby…

Robby. It had been an absolute whirlwind of a relationship between them. Johnny had made no contact or attempt at a relationship with him for the first 15 years of his life. But then he wanted to get involved but Robby obviously pushed him away. That morning though was a massive stride in their relationship. It was almost… father-son normality. Then came the fight and Johnny honestly had no idea where he stood. Should he take the side of his own flesh and blood, who nobody had even seen since the fight? Or should he take the side of the boy who has been nothing but loyal to him ever since they began?

Johnny sat in the wreckage of his apartment from the fight with LaRusso that morning, and he drank. He didn't just drink himself to oblivion, he drank further than that. He drank so much that he needed subtitles when he spoke. Not that he spoke to anyone. After Carmen kicked him out of the hospital, and he found out that he lost all of his students and all Johnny could bring himself to do was sit in his apartment and drink Coors after Coors after Coors until he blacked out.

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Hawk was angry. Fury coursed through his veins like fire as he hit the punching bag over and over and over again. It was all Johnny's fault. His pussy teachings had gotten the Cobra Kais' asses beaten by the Miyagi-do's, and had put Miguel in the hospital. Somehow, Dimitri had beaten him! DEMITRI! Because of Johnny's shitty teaching, that pussy had bested him! Johnny had let them down when they needed him, something that someone had already predicted. Kreese warned them that this would happen. Miguel showed mercy, and look where he ended up. So when Kreese came and offered the Cobras to learn under his instruction, they weren't about to say no.

Tory was also furious. She had gotten beaten up by that rich, spoilt little daddy's girl Sam. First, that bitch had the audacity to kiss Miguel. Then, somehow, Sam had weasled her way into a victory in their fight. She also blamed Johnny. It was all his fault. Teaching them mercy and honor. The world shows no mercy so why should they? Her and Hawk were now desperate for Kreese's Cobra Kai, and as many expected, they were his star pupils.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam and Amanda reached the hospital at around 11:30 at night. Amanda parked the car outside and let Sam go in alone. She knew how much her daughter cared about Miguel and thought she would appreciate privacy when visiting him.

She refused to talk, or even think about Robby until that moment. She thought of how much she hated him right now. It was one thing when Miguel accidentally clocked her while he was heavily drunk, but kicking someone off a railing that high up, it was inexcusable. Robby never showed up to even apologize, or to even see her, which stung. She didn't care because even if he came, Sam wouldn't talk to him.

Trying to get away from her thoughts, she wandered around the hospital, looking for Miguel. Her arm started throbbing so she merely popped a pain reliever and kept walking, desperately trying to find Miguel.

She walked oh so slowly around the dark corridors, for fear of straining her body too much. It would take a lot of training to heal her body, and if Miguel ever woke up, then maybe she could help him too.

Sam almost passed his room, but when she peered into the window, and saw his body laying there in the bed, her knees gave out. She fell to the floor and cursed herself for falling.

"If you can't even stand when you see him, what will happen if he wakes up?" she mumbled to herself.

Looking left, then right, she tiptoed across the floor and pressed herself against the door. Going against her better judgement she reached for the handle. Visiting hours were most definitely over but no nurse had stopped her so far. The first thing she thought was about Tory. What if she came here in the middle of the night to find Sam sitting next to him? Thankfully, the thoughts passed quickly, as she turned the knob and opened the door…

Miguel looked strange with all the machines connected to him. Besides that though, she could see the bruises on his face, and the brace attached to him because of his back. Even though he looked worse for wear, she could still see the guy who had tried to teach her Karate, not knowing that she was taught by an All Valley Winning father. When Sam revealed her Karate prowess, she could see surprise and awe in Miguel's eyes. A tear slid down her cheek as she realized how badly she missed him.

After they broke up, it was like someone punched her in the gut every time she saw him. Miguel was a sweet guy, so she shouldn't have been surprised when she found out that he was dating someone else, but her? Out of all the girls in the valley, he had to pick the criminal bitch? Sam had tried to ignore that it was jealousy gnawing away at her stomach, but it was plain and true. She definitely still had feelings for him.

She made her way to his bed, and pulled up a chair close to him. She reached for Miguel's hand, and found that it was surprisingly cold. Sam rubbed his hands in hers in an effort to warm him up. It was already two in the morning, so she rested her head in his lap. She just listened to both his and her breathing for a bit, before removing her head.

"Listen Miguel, I don't know if you can hear me, you probably can't, but if you can, I just want you to know that I only care about you. I don't care if Tory gets expelled or if Robby gets arrested, I just want you to be better. I miss you and your jokes. Please, wake up. Please." She begged, wiping away a tear. She wanted a sign, anything, to prove that he could hear her but nothing.

"You know…" Sam continued. "Looking back on our first date, I think that it was the best first date I ever went on. I mean, who can beat Señor Octopus? He kinda became our unofficial mascot, huh? Anyway, I am babbling now, so I will be quiet and let you rest."

Sam rested her head on Miguel's shoulder and she eventually drifted off asleep. An hour later, Amanda realised that Sam hadn't come back so she had gone into the hospital, looking for her. When she saw her daughter sleeping peacefully next to the comatose boy, she nodded and walked away. She walked back to her car and ended up falling asleep there.

Sam heard her watch beep, she realized that it was five o'clock. She had slept three hours without getting a nightmare. It was a miracle. Sam slowly tiptoed out of the room and back to her mom's car.

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Robby went to the police, Tory didn't. Instead, over the course of the next few months, Cobra Kai took over the valley by force. Led by Kreese, Hawk and Tory, Cobra Kai recruited more people than ever, including Kyler, Brucks and Yasmine. Cobra Kai had grown from just being a dojo: it was now a full-on gang, beating up people whenever they wanted for the smallest reasons.

Three months passed and Miguel still hadn't woken up. Everyone was starting to lose hope. His friends visited less and less. They all assumed that because Miguel hadn't woken up yet, he probably wasn't going to. Everyone had lost faith. Well, everyone but Sam. She hadn't given up on him and she never would. She went to that hospital room every day for three months without fail, sitting by his bedside for a couple of hours a day and talking to him about literally anything. About school, about music. About movies and TV. About everything but karate. Karate was a taboo word in her household. It was tearing her family apart. Daniel could only watch as Cobra Kai ran rampant in the valley but he couldn't do anything. Amanda had made it clear that there was NO MORE KARATE, and he wasn't going to sacrifice his family for it.

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Drowning. That's what Miguel felt like. He felt like he was sinking to the bottom of the ocean, weights tied to his feet and ropes preventing his arms from moving. He was completely paralysed and immobile; he couldn't even open his eyes! He felt like his lungs were slowly running out of air. With every passing day that he was in that coma, he felt a little more air trickle out of his lungs, slowly choking and constricting him. He occasionally heard voices in the distance. He heard his family, his friends, Sam. He heard her voice extremely often and it always breathed a bit more air into his lungs. However, he could never understand what anyone was saying. They all sounded so… distorted. Like they were underwater with him and were trying to talk while underwater.

One day, Miguel woke up to feel like all of the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He couldn't open his eyes, couldn't move his body, couldn't do anything, but he felt himself starting to suffocate. FAST! Miguel started to panic. His legs and arms wouldn't work and he ended up spasming uncontrollably. He felt like he was attempting to swim to the surface of the water before he ran out of air, but he was failing miserably.

Sam was sitting by Miguel's bedside that day, listening to the steady beep of the EKG machine, when suddenly, Miguel started seizing and the EKG machine started beeping rapidly and erratically. She leapt back and her heart dropped.

"NURSE!" She screamed down the hallway. A couple of nurses rushed into the room moments later.

"I need the room. Ma'am, please leave!" The doctor exclaimed as a nurse practically shoved her out of the room.

"No! Please! MIGUEL!" She screamed as she stood at the entrance of the room. Sam could only watch and sob in horror as the doctors assessed the seizing Miguel.

"He's coding." The doctor stated as him and the nurse tried desperately to restabilize him. But it was no use. A few moments later, Miguel stopped moving and the whole room heard the worst EKG sound they could possibly hear…

BEEEEEEEEEEEP!

One continuous beep. Miguel's heart had stopped beating. Sam put her head in her hands as more tears streamed down her face.

"Oh my God." She murmured. Amanda had also come up from the parking lot at this point as her daughter was meant to meet her there but didn't show. When she heard the 0bpm heartbeat on the EKG, she put everything together and she held her daughter as she wept. The nurses and doctors weren't done though. They needed to resuscitate him fast or he would never wake up.

"Starting compressions." The nurse said, raising the defibrillator to his chest. "3… 2… 1… Push!"

THUD!

Miguel's body thumped against the bed as the nurses tried to shock-start his heart, but there was no success.

"Try it again!" The doctor demanded. The nurse nodded and rewinded the defibrillator.

"Starting compressions in 3… 2… 1… Push!"

THUD!

Once again, Miguel jerked into the air and back down but it did nothing to stop the single ringing of the EKG. Eventually, the doctors put their equipment down and sighed. That's when Sam knew… he was gone.

At this point, Carmen had been called from her wing in the hospital and she was also watching, immobile in horror, as the doctors walked towards them.

"I'm really sorry. He's gone." The doctor murmured. Sam and Carmen were frozen to the spot in shock. Carmen sprinted down the hallway in tears, leaving Sam alone in Miguel's hospital room. She tiptoed into the room and over to Miguel's limp, lifeless body. Tears relentlessly poured down her face as she walked over to the familiar seat at his bedside.

"Hey, Miguel." She whispered, taking his cold, deceased hand in her own. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for breaking up with you last year. I wish… I wish I didn't let karate end our relationship. I wish we got that extra time together. But now you're gone and… we'll never get that time back. I'm going to miss you so much. I'm never going to forget about you. Good bye, Miguel."

An endless stream of tears leaked out of her eyes as she stared at Miguel's blank expression. She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it softly. She then held it in hers and just sat with him. A couple of moments later, she felt it…

Miguel's fingers slowly curled around her, intertwining their two hands together. Sam's gaze shot up and she looked at Miguel. To her astonishment, his eyes were no longer limp, but were darting around the room frantically.

"M-m-m-miguel?" Sam stammered.

"Sam? Where am I?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Sam? Where am I?" Miguel whispered again, his voice dripping in pain. He tried to get up but he quickly realised something. "My legs! I can't feel my legs! What the hell is happening to me?!"

Miguel started to thrash in his bed, his eyes filled with pain at every movement so Sam leapt to her feet and gently held him to the bed.

"Miguel! Miguel. Calm down." She said, not shouting, but speaking gently so as not to frighten him even more. "You're in the hospital. You were in a coma for the past little while. You just woke up."

Miguel could thankfully lift his arms so he used them to rub his eyes in disbelief.

"C-Coma? What happened? Was it a car accident? Are my mom and yaya okay? Johnny?"

Sam smiled faintly. Of course Miguel would immediately think about the safety of not himself, but his family.

"Your family is fine." She said, softly. "There was a…"

"Fight." Miguel groaned, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, I just remembered. In West Valley High, right?"

Sam nodded and looked down.

"Are you okay? Tory didn't hurt you, did she?" Miguel asked, concerned. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Tory? Tory regretted every laying a hand on me from the moment we started fighting." Sam stated. Miguel chuckled.

"Oh, God! Is she okay?" He laughed. Sam nodded. Miguel thought for a moment.

"What about Robby?" Miguel asked. Sam shrugged.

"Oh, he's in juvy. You don't have to worry about him." Sam said. Miguel shook his head.

"That's not what I asked." He stated, his voice still aching with pain. Sam had pressed the nurse button as soon as he woke up, but because the nurses assumed he was dead, they weren't in a hurry to get to him, with all the patients in the hospital needing help as well. "I asked, is he okay? Like emotionally."

Sam shrugged again.

"I don't know. I haven't visited him since he was placed in juvy. No one has."

Miguel put his head in his hands. Sam immediately leapt to her feet in concern.

"What? What's wrong?" She demanded, about to run out of the hospital room door and scream for a nurse.

"No one visited him?" Miguel muttered. Sam shook her head.

"Not that I know of. I wasn't about to see him. My dad took what he did really hard so he wasn't about to see him. His mom's still in rehab so she has no idea what's going on. And Johnny…" Sam's voice trailed off at the mention of Johnny. Johnny had started spiralling and drowning the day of the fight and never stopped. "Well, Johnny wasn't going to see him either. He also took what happened to you really hard."

Miguel sighed.

"Look, Robby is not a malicious person. When he kicked me over the edge, for a split second, I saw his face. And the look on his face… it was not the look of someone who wanted to kill me. He's just an angry kid who got caught up in the moment. But his expression... it was more than that. He was just… lost. Like he didn't have anyone supporting him his whole life. And now being betrayed by everyone who used to care about him… that's really rough."

Sam was taken aback. After waking up mere seconds ago, Miguel had already used his endless empathy to attempt to help someone who had nearly killed him.

"Wow… um, Miguel… I never thought about it that way. I don't think any of us thought about it that way." Sam stammered. Miguel shrugged.

"Okay. How long was I out anyways? Couple days? A week?" He asked. That's when Sam realised. Miguel had no idea what had really happened.

"Miguel… um… you were out a while. You broke three vertebrae in your back."

"How long?" Miguel muttered, getting extremely worried at this point.

"3 months." Sam murmured in reply. Miguel's head shot up, groaning in pain as his back seared in pain.

"3 MONTHS?! I'VE BEEN OUT FOR THREE MONTHS?!" He exclaimed, rolling off his bed and immediately collapsing on the floor due to the lack of leg movement he had. Finally, the nurse arrived in the room and did a double-take when she saw Miguel. Like everyone else, she assumed he was dead and to see him half-military crawling on the ground was a strange sight.

"Mr. Diaz? You're not dead!" She exclaimed, in shock.

"Not yet." He muttered in reply. Sam stood at the side of the room and watched as the nurse pulled him to his feet. The nurse quickly dragged him into a different room and the rest of the day was spent having various tests done on him. It turned out that because of his spinal injuries, he was temporarily paralysed. With the right therapy, he should regain full-movement but the nurse made it very clear that if he didn't want to be paralysed for the rest of his life, it would take A LOT of HARD work.

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That night, Samantha drove Miguel home after he had been discharged from the hospital. Carmen wasn't picking up her phone when the hospital called - presumably, she was mourning Miguel's death. Samantha parked in front of the compound and the two of them got out of the car together. Miguel was on crutches and would be for the next little while - his immense upper body strength basically dragging his limp lower body along. Sam turned to him. She took a deep breath. This was it.

"Miguel, I just want you to know that I'm really, really happy you're okay." She started. "Everything that happened over the summer, with our break up, with Robby. I let others get in my head and I pushed you away. I'm so sorry. I haven't stopped thinking about you since we broke up. Miguel, I… I still have feelings for you."

Miguel was speechless. He honestly didn't know what to say. But he didn't have to say anything. Sam leaned in and she kissed him gently. Miguel leaned into the kiss for several moments before they both pulled away.

"Wow." They both murmured as they broke apart.

"Look, Sam..." Miguel said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about this moment. I have, SO SO many times over the past summer. I pictured this moment in thousands of different ways and in not one of them did I ever imagine myself saying no."

"You… You don't want to be with me?" Sam stammered. Miguel shook his head.

"I want to be with you so badly that I can't do it. I want to be with you, but without baggage from previous relationships."

"Miguel, I'm not... I'm not hung up on Robby." Sam stated. Miguel nodded.

"I'm glad. But you're not the problem. I am." He said.

"You're still into Tory?" Sam asked in disbelief. After everything she had done, was Miguel seriously going to go back to her?"

"No, no, noooo. Dating Tory was a mistake. I know that now. But I also know that I never ended up getting closure and breaking up with her. Although it's been three months since the fight, to me it's been just a couple of hours. In my eyes, I'm technically still dating her, no matter how messed up and warped our relationship might be. Look, don't get me wrong, I do really want to be with you, but I can't ignore my past relationship either. I need closure. My relationship with Tory… it was actually meaningful to me. When we broke up, I felt pretty broken. Tory helped give me confidence in myself again. The least I owe her is a proper break up."

Sam nodded and smiled.

"I understand. And if you need some time to get over her…"

"Would that be okay?" Miguel asked. Sam laughed.

"Of course! Take all the time you need. And just know, when you're ready, I'll be here for you."

Miguel smiled.

"Thanks, Sam." He smiled. With that, Sam got in her car and Miguel walked up to his house for the first time in three months…

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Miguel's family were astonished and overjoyed to see him, to say the least. After the hugs he got from Carmen and his grandmother, he felt like he not only had the three broken vertebrae, but several broken ribs along with them. After a quick catch-up with them, his grandmother insisted on cooking an absolutely massive celebratory meal. Half an hour later, every inch of the table was covered with countless salads, soups, entrees and desserts. As his family were about to sit down and eat, Miguel realised something.

"Oh, can I go invite Sensei for dinner?" Miguel asked. He hadn't seen Johnny yet and he really wanted to. Carmen and his grandmother exchanged a look of sadness. A brief look, but Miguel still noticed. The look was gone as quickly as it came though.

"Um… sweetie, why don't we hold off on inviting Sensei for now? Have this dinner for just our family?"

Miguel nodded but was confused. His family always let him invite Johnny for dinner. Why not now? But he didn't press. He could tell something was going on, but he didn't want to upset his family the day he woke up. It would wait for a couple of days…

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But it couldn't. It couldn't wait. Finn was dying to see his sensei again so that night, he crept out of the house and across the hall to Johnny's apartment. Luckily, he remembered where Johnny hid his spare key so Miguel unlocked the door and stepped inside…

When he looked around the apartment, his mouth dropped. The apartment was nothing like how it was before, and not in a good way. Beer bottles and beef jerky packets were strewn all over the floor. The furniture was thrown all over the room. The TV screen was smashed. It looked like the place had been ransacked.

"Um… Sensei?" Miguel called out into the darkness. Moments later, he heard someone stumbling out of the bathroom.

"HEY!" Johnny slurred, clearly so drunk that he couldn't even see straight. "What the hell do you think you're… wait! Diaz?"

Johnny rubbed his eyes. In his level of intoxication, Miguel looked like a ghost. A spirit. A mere reminder of the person he lost. The person he killed.

"Wow, you're drunk." Miguel remarked. "What the hell happened to you? You look like crap."

"Well, you don't exactly look the best either." Johnny replied drunkenly, pointing at Miguel's crutches. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Sensei, are you okay?" Miguel asked, concerned.

"What do you want, Diaz?" Johnny snapped. Miguel sighed.

"I came for your help. I thought because you managed to get me from a skinny, underweight, bullied kid to an All-Valley champ in less than a year, you would be able to be in charge of my physical therapy. I don't want some random doctor's physical therapy methods. I want Sensei Lawrence's Cobra Kai methods. So what do you say?"

Johnny took a deep breath.

"No." He replied. Miguel's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry. No?" He stammered.

"No. And get out of my house." Johnny snapped. Miguel clenched his jaw.

"OK, fine." Miguel murmured and he started towards the door. When he had one hand on the doorknob, he turned back to Johnny.

"You know the past few months haven't been the easiest months in the world, right? In three months, I lost karate, I lost my sensei, my family is now practically broke from the hospital fees, not to mention the fact that I LOST MOVEMENT IN MY FUCKING LEGS! But I'm going to wake up every morning with a huge smile on my face. I'm not going to give up, because giving up is a pussy move. And do you know who taught me that? YOU!"

"My teachings are also what got you in this situation in the first fucking place. It's my fault. I was an awful influence on you." Johnny muttered. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"If you believe that, then you're even stupider than I thought." Miguel stated, not holding back now. "You didn't just teach me karate, Sensei. You taught me how to be a man. You're the only father figure I've ever had, and you changed my life. But if you want to drink yourself into oblivion, be my guest!

With that, Miguel started to walk out the door when he heard a voice behind him…

"Wait!" Johnny called. Miguel slowly turned around to face him.

"What?" Miguel snapped. Johnny took a deep breath.

"Look, I'm sorry." Johnny murmured. "I'm going through some stuff. I blame myself for what happened to you. But I want to make it up to you. So, you ready to train harder than you ever have in your life? Because once you go down this path, there's no turning back."

Miguel smirked.

"You're gonna be my physical therapist?"

"No." He replied. "I'm gonna be your physical therapy sensei…"


	4. Chapter 4

So that's how it went. Because Christmas break had just begun so there was no school, Miguel spent every waking moment on Johnny's insanely rigorous training regimen. Wake up at 4. Go out to the forest. Exercise for 10 hours. Go home. Repeat. It was absolutely exhausting, but Miguel didn't complain once. He could feel himself getting stronger with every passing day. He started by being able to hobble on one leg, then he could limp, then he could walk, and two months later, he was able to run. And when he could run, he RAN. He ran as fast as his legs could possibly go, and for as long as he was able to last. After two months of not being able to even walk, when he finally ran, he never wanted to stop.

Miguel was loving his life more than ever. He had literally come back from the dead. It was like God had given him a second chance at life. He lived every day as if it was his last. He had never enjoyed his life so much and a lot of that was because of Sam. She was just incredible. She had his back at every turn. Whenever he was struggling and fell over, she was right there to help pick him up. Whenever he wasn't with Johnny, he was with her. Although they weren't officially dating, they were spending a lot of time together and absolutely loved each other's company. The only person who wasn't too happy about this was Johnny. Now that Johnny was sober and his mind was clearer, he had realised something: although he had been the one who taught Miguel karate, all of the fights Miguel had actually gotten into were over Samantha Larusso. The dining hall fight. The halloween fight. The school battle. It was all Larusso's offspring's fault, and Johnny wasn't about to let Miguel get himself injured again over her. He needed to do something…

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Carmen walked over to the door and opened it to see Johnny standing there. Although they weren't getting back together anytime soon, they had grown to be civil with each other.

"Hey, Johnny. I'm sorry but I think Miguel's with friends right now." She said. Johnny gritted his teeth. 'Friends?' More like one friend. One friend who had nearly gotten him killed.

"Yeah, um… yeah, I know." He said. "I came to talk to _you_ , actually. About Miguel."

"What's going on? Is he okay?" Carmen asked, concerned. Johnny nodded.

"He's fine. For now." He murmured. Carmen raised an eyebrow.

"For now? What does that mean?" She asked. "What's going on?"

"How much do you know about Miguel's love life?" Johnny asked. Carmen's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Not much." She replied. "I think he spends quite a bit of time with his ex-girlfriend, Sam. He talks a lot about her."

Johnny nodded.

"Carmen, I think she's a bad influence on him." Johnny stated.

"You do? Why?" Carmen asked. Although she didn't want to date Johnny anymore, she knew that the man always had Miguel's best interests at heart.

"Have you met her?" He asked. Carmen shook her head. Johnny nodded. "Look, as you know, I know her family and them and I… we aren't on the best of terms, but hear me out, okay? This girl in particular is a bad influence on Miguel. I've only met her once, last year. Her and her dumb, rich friends rear-ended my car that night, and rather than giving me their name and number so they could replace it, they just drove away."

"Wow, Johnny, that's terrible! They didn't turn back?" She asked, surprised. Johnny shook his head.

"Hell, no! I'm telling you… that whole family is rotten to the core. Larusso, his dad, his cousin. They're all the same. And it doesn't end there. That girl… she's the reason Miguel got into all of his fights last year."

"What do you mean?" Carmen asked.

"Think about it, Carmen. The first fight he got in, on halloween… it was because he was listening into a conversation about Samantha and he didn't want to leave. Then, during the fight in the dining hall…"

"Wait, what fight in the dining hall?" Carmen asked. Johnny's eyes widened. He remembered… Miguel's grandmother had been the one to answer the phone that day so Carmen still had no idea about the fight. Johnny sighed and recounted the whole story to Carmen, who listened in-shock.

"Yeah, so basically, if he didn't feel the need to defend her that day, he wouldn't have gotten involved. And then during the school fight, Samantha kissed Miguel and his then-girlfriend saw, causing the whole mess and causing Miguel to be… you know." He finished. He took a deep breath. "Look, at the end of the day, you're his mom and it's your opinion that matters. I just wanted you to know because I feel like you deserve to. You know how much I care about your son. I wouldn't do something like this if I didn't know for sure. That girl, her whole family, can't be trusted."

Carmen nodded slowly.

"Um… yeah, I agree with you. Let's talk to Miguel about it tonight. But Johnny, there's something else you have to know about my family…"

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That night, Miguel walked into the house to see Johnny and Carmen sitting, staring at him as he walked inside. He raised an eyebrow at them.

"Um… guys. Is everything okay?" He asked. Johnny and Carmen looked at each other, nervously, and then looked at Miguel.

"Have a seat, mijo." Carmen said. "We need to talk."

"Um… okay." Miguel said, sitting opposite them.

"It's about Larusso's daughter." Johnny stated. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Look, Sensei, whatever beef you have with Daniel Larusso… it's not Samantha." He said. Johnny shook his head and sighed.

"It's not about Daniel and it's not about me. It's about you and Samantha and I think… we think she's a bad influence on you."

Miguel laughed.

"Samantha? Really? Are you guys sure you're not mistaking her for Tory?" He asked. Johnny shook his head.

"No, we're talking about Samantha. All of the fights you've gotten into… they've been over her. You almost died Miguel, in a fight that was over her!"

"We'd like you to stop seeing her." Carmen said. Miguel clenched his jaw.

"I'm sorry, but what gives you the right to do that. I'm 17, mom. I'm not in elementary school, where you could tell me who or who not to hang out with."

"Look, Miguel, we just have your best interests at heart." Johnny said, unusually softly. "That girl, her whole family, they're all the same."

"How would you know that?!" Miguel said, raising his voice slightly. "You don't even know her! You've never met her!"

"I have, actually." Johnny said. "Last year. Her and her friends rammed into my car and then drove off, right in front of me."

"She hit and ran you?" Miguel asked, slightly unsure. Johnny nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Miguel." Johnny murmured. Miguel shook his head, furiously.

"No. NO! This isn't about her! This is about you and your being bitter about your issues with Daniel Larusso!"

Johnny shook his head.

"Miguel, I swear, it's not about that. I would never care more about that dumb rivalry than you. You're the most important person in my life, Miguel, and I am just looking out for your best interests."

Miguel slowly nodded.

"Yeah, look, I'm not saying I'm going to do that. But I know you guys and you're clearly being serious. I'll think about it."

"That's good." Carmen said. "And Miguel, there's one more thing I need to talk to you about…"

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The next morning, when Miguel walked into school for the first time in three months, he was deep in thought. He was completely torn. On one hand, he really did like spending time with Samantha, but on the other… he couldn't betray both his mother and Johnny. They were the two most important people in his life. And besides, that story that Johnny told about the hit-and-run really did sound true. Did Samantha really do that? All he knew was that he needed some answers. However, he knew that he needed to see someone else first.

As soon as Miguel walked into the school, he sent a text to Tory, asking her to meet him in an empty classroom. She did, moments later, a huge scowl on her face.

"What do you want?" She snapped as she walked into the room. Miguel nodded. He wasn't expecting much of a hero's welcome from her. After all, he had cheated on her, and she had to have known about all the time him and Sam were spending together.

"Look, Tory, I wanted to apologise." He said. Tory's glare eased up slightly in her surprise. After everything he had been through, she didn't really think he had called her to apologise.

"You… you do?"

"Yeah. I cheated on you, Tory. Plain and simple. And it was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made. I wanted you to know that despite what I did, our relationship did mean something to me. It meant a lot to me. You helped me get from a broken shell of a man to whole again. Despite your… sharp exterior, you are an amazing person, Tory, and you deserve the world."

Tory's glare crumbled even further, leaving a hint of a smile.

"Thanks, Miguel. I'm… I'm really glad you're okay. It'll be nice to have you in West Valley for the rest of junior and senior year." Tory said. Miguel nodded and ran a hand through his hair. He still hadn't told anyone his news yet, and he didn't intend to.

Miguel left the room, a lot happier. He had successfully patched things up with Tory and although they weren't getting back together, he hoped there was no bad blood between them. Now, he just needed to talk to Sam…

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"Hey Miguel. What's up?" Sam asked, sitting on a bench next to him in the park, later that day. Miguel looked at her and suddenly, the image of her hitting Johnny's car flashed in his mind. He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath.

"We need to talk." He said.

"Um… okay. Is everything all right?" She asked, slightly nervously.

"Did you hit my sensei's car and just drive away last year?" Miguel asked. Sam's face dropped and Miguel knew, instantly, that Johnny was telling the truth and Sam had done just that.

"Miguel, I…" She started.

"SAM!" He exclaimed.

"Look, I'm really sorry. It was Yasmine driving the car, and Moon was…"

"I don't care who was driving, Sam! I can't believe you did that!" Miguel snapped. "That man is more of a father to me than anyone has been my entire life. No wonder… No wonder he doesn't think I should be around you."

Sam's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" She spat. Miguel sighed.

"Him and my mom… they believe that you're a bad influence, because every fight I've ever been in has involved you in some way or another. My sensei thinks that your family is… bad news."

Sam scoffed.

"Well, of course he's gonna think that! He still hates my dad for everything that happened to them in high school, and then everything that happened with Miyagi-Do which, by the way, was all your sensei's fault!"

"Are you serious?! Everything that happened was your dad's fault! Even back in high school! Sensei told me what happened! Your dad came into town, started hitting on Sensei's girlfriend. Then, when Sensei walked over to talk to her, your dad kept butting in. He told your dad to get lost, mind his own business and then out of nowhere, your dad sucker-punched him. You call my Sensei the bad guy but all he did was defend himself when he fought your dad. Then, at the halloween dance, Sensei was minding his own business when YOUR DAD doused him with the water hose. They hadn't seen each other in months, and yet your dad decided to turn a water hose on my sensei. When Sensei chased him down, your dad, rather than fighting his own damn battles, had an adult karate master assault Sensei and his friends. Then at the All-Valley…"

"Yeah, the All-Valley, where MY DAD WON!"

"With an ILLEGAL KICK!" Miguel shouted. He was starting to get seriously mad now. He finally understood why Johnny hated that family so much. Although Johnny and Miguel were Cobra Kais, the Larussos were the real snakes.

"Oh, please. Like your sensei's 'sweep the leg' wasn't at all illegal?" She remarked. Miguel shrugged.

"Sensei got a warning, your dad got the win. You make Cobra Kai out to be the bad guys? You, your dad and his Miyagi-Do Karate dojo are the real villains."

"Seriously? Your dojo's motto is Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy! Do you not remember Tory during the school fight?" Sam shouted. Miguel shrugged.

"Not to point out the obvious, but wasn't it you who struck first when you accused her of stealing your mom's wallet?" Miguel stated. "But if you really want to bring up the school fight, let's bring up the school fight! First of all, I would like it on the record that I do NOT agree with what Tory, Hawk and Kreese's Cobra Kai are doing now. They are terrorising the valley and that's not right. But if we're talking about the school fight, your Miyagi-Dos fought WAAAAAAYYYYY dirtier than we ever did! First off, let's start with you and Robby. Robby shoved me off the god-damn third floor balcony, literally killing me!"

"He made a mistake, Miguel. You admitted that yourself!" Sam cried. Miguel nodded.

"I agree. _He_ did. But when you shoved Tory off the balcony on the first floor, I know it was sure as hell on purpose."

"She's fine." Sam responded. Miguel's eyes widened.

"AND THAT MAKES IT OKAY?" He exclaimed. "Jesus, Sam! Are you crazy? She landed on the marble staircase! She could have died! And it wasn't just you who fought dirty. Mitch, one of the Cobra Kais, managed to take down Chris, one of your Miyagi-Do students. But you know how Chris knocked him out when Mitch started to walk away? He hit him over the head with a hard-backed dictionary! A GOD DAMN DICTIONARY, SAM! And Demitri… Hawk may have instigated the fight, but Demitri kicked him through a glass trophy cabinet, shattering it to pieces. Hawk had to have more stitches than you did! Can't you see how fucked up that is, Sam?"

"But Cobra Kai…"

"Cobra Kai what? Look, if you brought up anything that happened after the school fight, I'd be inclined to agree with you. But you didn't! Instead, you brought up things that happened in the past that were all your family's fault! You know what? My sensei was right about you guys. Your whole family… you're rotten to the core. Goodbye, Sam…"


	5. Chapter 5

So that's exactly what happened. For the rest of the academic year, Miguel just put his head down and lived a basic life. He was a straight A student with a near perfect grade average, so academics were a breeze for him. In particular, he soared in Biology and it was, by far, his favourite subject. In terms of his social life, Miguel stayed in a unique neutral zone between Cobra Kai and the rest of the victims. Although Cobra Kai tried desperately to recruit him as soon as he could walk again, he politely declined as after he nearly died, he didn't want to go back to karate and risk it happening again. Surprisingly, Cobra Kai didn't argue with him, and he was still friends with some of the Cobra Kais. However, although he was cool with the Cobra Kais, things between him and Sam were extremely sour. They hadn't had a conversation alone together in almost 5 months. Miguel was also relatively close with Aisha and Demitri. Aisha was the only other Cobra Kai - other than him and Johnny, of course - who didn't come back after the school fight, but like Miguel, she was still friends with some of the Cobra Kais, but was also friends with some of the former Miyagi-Dos. Miguel and Aisha were lucky though. They had the ties with Cobra Kai that granted them a protection from the dojo that a lot of others didn't have. In their free time, the current Cobras would loot malls, trash the school, beat up random people and many other horrifying actions. They had completely taken over the Valley, and were the most feared gang in the valley. Over the summer, however, they had eased up a little. That was until the last week of the summer…

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"Wake up, Keene!" A guard shouted, rapping on Robby's cell door. Robby groaned and opened his eyes. He had been in Juvie for 9 months to the day - the exact amount of time that his sentence lasted. He was out! Robby slowly climbed out of bed, groaning quietly in pain as he put weight on his slightly sore left leg. The past 9 months had been pure hell. Juvie was like nothing he could have ever imagined. The dudes in there with him were harder guys than anyone he had come across in his life. In general, children had to do particular terrible things to be sentenced to prolonged sentences in Juvie, so Robby was among gang members, drug traffickers, assault & battery committers among many others. Robby hadn't joined a gang or made friends in juvie so he had already made himself a target from day 1. He was picked on and beaten up a LOT, and he was glad to finally be out of there.

However, once Robby was out of the gates of juvie, he had a horrific realisation. Although he was finally out of juvie, he had no life now. There was no way he was getting into a self-respecting college. The minute the colleges would hear he was in Juvie for assault and battery, they would turn and run the other way. But he couldn't even think that far. It was the final week of summer and he was about to begin his senior year, but he had no idea where. He obviously wasn't about to be welcomed back with the Larussos, and he probably wouldn't be welcome with Johnny either, with everything that happened with Miguel. Johnny had come to see him once in his nine months of juvie, around 3 weeks after he was first admitted, and he had made it pretty clear that he wouldn't be visiting often. It hurt him too much to see one son in the hospital, fighting for his life, and one son behind bars at the mere age of 17. Shortly after the visit was when Johnny went off the rails and relapsed into his alcoholic ways. Robby didn't know where he was going to live, where he was going to school, what he was going to do. All he knew was that he now had a life to live and no one to support him.

Robby walked out the exit of the detention center and into the parking lot and when he saw who was there, he nearly did a double take. His mom was standing in front of him, a massive smile on her face. As soon as he saw him, she rushed over and gave him a huge hug.

"Mom… w-w-what are you doing here?" Robby stammered.

"I finished rehab last week and I wanted to surprise you!" She exclaimed as she hugged her son.

"Wow, mom, it's so amazing to see you!" Robby said, still in shock. He couldn't believe it. Maybe his life wasn't over, after all. Maybe he could still have a future. With his mom. In another State. Far away from his life here.

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Hawk stormed into the Cobra kai dojo with an evil scowl on his face. He had just heard about Robby's release from juvie and he knew that he had just a couple of days before Robby disappeared again, possibly for good. Despite everything, Miguel was Hawk's best friend and although it was against his new personality, when Miguel fell over the railing and almost died, it scared him to death. Hawk vowed, then and there, that he would get revenge for his friend on the boy who kicked him over the edge. Kreese more than agreed with his plan and Hawk, Kreese and Tory had rallied the entire Cobra Kai dojo and planned a beat-up for the day Robby got out of juvie.

In the dojo, he walked over to Kreese, who was talking to Tory. He nodded at them.

"Hawk, what's up?" Kreese asked.

"Sensei. It's time…" was all Hawk said, and Kreese and Tory understood immediately. Their faces went from shock to wicked determination. They wanted revenge for Miguel almost as much as he did. Kreese simply nodded.

"Let's do it…" He replied.

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That night, Robby sat on a park bench with a massive smile on his face. Twelve hours ago, he was being let out of juvie with no future ahead of him at all. Now, he was about to move to Phoenix, Arizona with his mom, in hopes of finding a better life. There were too many bad memories in California. His mom's drinking and partying addiction, his dad abandoning him, him going to juvie. They just… they needed to get away. He had just told Johnny the news, and he had taken it surprisingly well. Johnny promised to call him every Sunday to talk. He didn't want to lose contact with his son. Not again. As Robby sat on the bench and admired the California sunset, suddenly, the sun went behind a cloud, making the sky extremely dark. Moments later, Robby heard movement behind him so he turned around so he turned around. His heart dropped… All 25 members of Cobra Kai were prowling towards him, unadulterated rage practically leaking out of them. Leading the pack were Tory and Hawk, who looked even more furious than the rest of the group.

"Well, well, well…" Hawk drawled. "Look who it is? You're finally out of juvie, huh?"

Robby nodded, nervously.

"You know…" Tory started. "Every day for the nine months you've been in juvie, we've been waiting for you. Watching. Waiting. Planning for the day you got out. You almost killed our leader. And now… Now, you're gonna pay."

With that, the 25 Cobra Kai bullies lunged at Robby…

Robby was instantly overwhelmed by a tornado of kicks and punches, falling to the floor and attempting to crouch into a foetal ball to protect himself from the onslaught of attacks. It was no use though. The Cobras quickly pinned his arms and his legs so he couldn't move and continued to pummel the stuffing out of him. Eventually, when Robby was semi-conscious, on the brink of unconsciousness, the Cobras eased up a little. Everyone but the four people pinning down Robby's limbs stood up and stepped back. Hawk smirked and walked towards the struggling boy. Hawk clenched his fists and smirked.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this for a long time." Hawk growled. Just as he was about to beat the crap out of Robby himself, a voice rang through the air.

"STOP!" Someone shouted. The Cobra Kais all simultaneously turned around to see Aisha, Samantha and Demitri standing there. They had all been hanging out in the park together and heard Robby's cries of pain and ran over to see what was going on.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to join the party." Hawk chuckled, his eyes now dragged away from Robby and locked onto Demetri. "It's pussy Demetri."

Demitri blushed furiously but didn't say anything. He didn't want to fight. He didn't need to be a pessimist to know that they were severely outnumbered.

"Hey, Larusso. What did I tell you would happen if you ever crossed me again?" Tory snarled. Samantha gulped in fear. Although the school fight was far from controlled, this was an even less civilised setting so there was no telling what Tory would do to her.

"Walk away, Hawk." Aisha warned, glaring at him. Hawk scowled at her.

"I should tell you the same thing. You used to be Cobra Kai. You could turn around now, unharmed. Do that and you don't have to get hurt." Hawk suggested. Aisha scoffed.

"You know I'm not gonna do that." Aisha responded. The three of them clenched their fists and prepared for the fight. Hawk made a beeline for Demetri, Tory charged at Sam, and the rest of Cobra Kai pulverised both Robby and Aisha, leaving the other two for their arch nemeses. Within five minutes, all four of the non-Cobras were down-and-out, with Sam by far the worse for wear. With her hands pinned behind her back by the Cobras, making her powerless to defend herself, Tory had beat up every inch of her body. Thankfully, she didn't have her spike bracelet on hand but every punch still felt like the stabbing of a knife on her weak body. Soon, she was pretty much unconscious.

At that very moment, Miguel was biking through the park on his way home when he saw loud voices up ahead. Familiar voices. Raising an eyebrow, he slowly pedalled up ahead and when he saw the scene before him, his jaw dropped. He rapidly sped up until he made it over, and he leapt off his bike and ran over.

"HEY! STOP!" He shouted as he sprinted towards them. Hawk turned around and a flicker of doubt flashed in his face when he saw his former best friend.

"Miguel. Turn around. Walk away." Hawk snapped. Miguel gritted his teeth.

"Hawk, stop." He demanded. "Stop hitting them. They don't deserve it. They've done nothing wrong."

"ROBBY NEARLY KILLED YOU!" Hawk bellowed, advancing on Robby once again. Miguel grabbed him by the back of the shirt before he could reach the injured boy and he turned him so the two boys were facing each other once again.

"It was an accident." Miguel stated. "An accident that could have easily happened to anyone. I've forgiven him for it, why can't you?"

Hawk thought for a moment, before turning back to Robby and starting towards him, pure hatred in his eyes.

"You're dead, Keene." He growled as he stalked towards the semi-conscious boy. Miguel grabbed him back again.

"Okay, okay, okay. I get it. I get it." Miguel stammered, desperately. He needed to get the Cobras away from the four injured teenagers. FAST. He then remembered exactly what to say.

"Get off me, Miguel." Hawk snarled, trying to get his arm away from Miguel but failing.

"Hey! Hawk! Listen! Do you remember, at the beginning of sophomore year, we got our asses kicked by Kyler and his idiot buddies? Do you remember what you said right after? You were complaining about how those guys were such jackasses. They beat us up for no reason. They went way too far. Just under two years later, look at what has happened! These people are just like you, two years ago. Now, you remember how angry and helpless you felt back then after a 5 vs. 2 fight. Imagine how these people are feeling now, after getting their asses kicked 25 vs. 4 fight. Be the bigger man, Hawk. Do what you wished Kyler had done back then and just walk away."

The two young men stared at each other for several moments, Hawk's eyes clearly torn and Miguel's not full of anger, but full of hope and desperation. Hawk turned back towards the rest of Cobra Kai and Miguel thought that he had failed. He sighed and rolled up his sleeves, ready to go down fighting. But what happened next was completely unexpected.

"Guys, leave them alone." Hawk snapped. Tory's eyes widened.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Tory shouted. Hawk scowled at them.

"Leave them alone this time. We've done enough for now." He stated. The two glared daggers at each other but eventually, Tory nodded and sighed.

"Fine. Let's roll out!" She announced to the rest of Cobra Kai. They nodded and followed Tory and Hawk away from the park. Just as they were about to walk away, Tory turned to Sam, who was still struggling to regain her bearings.

"You got lucky this time, bitch. Next time you won't be…"


	6. Chapter 6

The Cobra Kais quickly retreated from the park, and after helping the four beat-up teenagers to their feet, he cycled away shortly after. He had no interest in dealing with Sam. The two hadn't spoken in 6 months and he didn't intend for that to end now. He pedalled all the way home, where he ate dinner with Johnny because his mom was still working. He didn't speak much during dinner and Johnny could tell something was up but he didn't press.

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"What the hell happened?!" Daniel shouted as Demitri and Aisha practically carried Samantha into the Larusso house, later that night. Robby had already left for Phoenix with his mother and Samantha was by far the worst off out of all of them after the fight. Tory had done a real number on her, intelligently not breaking any bones that would require Samantha to go to hospital and press charges, but bruising every inch of her body.

"Cobra Kai jumped us in the park." Aisha explained as they laid Samantha out on the living room couch. Amanda was still at the office so it was just Daniel in the house. Daniel groaned and put his head in his hands. That gang was out of control. He quickly rushed over into the kitchen and grabbed a first-aid kit. Bringing it back into the living room where Samantha and the two other kids were, he gently wiped up various small cuts and scrapes that were on his daughter's face.

"What the hell is wrong with those guys? This is insane!" Daniel spat.

"I can't believe they would do this." Aisha murmured.

"I can." Demitri snapped. "They are out of control. We should press charges!"

"What would that achieve?" Sam murmured. "Robby was in juvie for 9 months and he almost killed Miguel. Hawk and Tory and Cobra Kai won't set foot in juvie for this."

"Well, we can't just let them get away with it!" Demitri exclaimed.

"Don't think we have a choice." Sam responded.

"No! Demitri's right! Something has to change!" Daniel stated.

"Well, what do you want to happen?!" Sam shouted. "You think this is easy, dad?! People who 12 months ago were our friends are now beating the crap out of us at every opportunity. Us being target number 1 for the most fearsome gang in the valley? NO! But we deal with it because we don't have a damn choice!"

"You could try and reason with them." Daniel suggested. "I mean, after all, deep down, they are still people."

The teenagers laughed.

"You really think they're going to reason with us? When they see us, any reasoning, emotion, restraint goes out the window." Aisha replied.

"I'm not sure that's true." Daniel said. "I mean, you got away okay this time, right?"

"That's only because Miguel played his one 'Get out of Jail Free' card, as it were." Demitri stated. "Next time, we're not gonna be as lucky. The best we can do is just take the hits and pray that we don't get any permanent body damage."

"See, dad. No choice." Sam stated.

"Yes, you do. You always have a choice." Daniel said, quietly. "You could stand up and face them head-on. Beat them at their own game. Win a fight against them and they'll leave you alone."

The three teenagers scoffed.

"Easier said than done." Sam remarked.

"Yeah, Mr. Larusso. We tried that with Miyagi-Do and look how that ended? No offense, but it made everything so much worse. Hell, it literally got someone killed!" Demitri exclaimed.

"Hey, guys. What if Mr. Larusso's right?" Aisha murmured. "What if we do need to just face the problem head-on and beat them in a fight?"

Sam and Demitri's eyes widened.

"Are you crazy?" Demitri asked. "Did you not hear what I just said? Someone almost died last time, and that was with the old Cobra Kai. Who knows what will happen this time?"

"Just hear me out, okay?" Aisha asked. "Senior year starts next week. What if we challenge Cobra Kai to a fight for the last week of senior year, giving us almost all year to prepare?"

"Aisha, we could have all the time in the world and it wouldn't make a difference. They will destroy us whenever, wherever we go." Sam stated. "They did last time, and they will this time."

Aisha nodded.

"You know, every day for the past year, I've been going through the school fight in my head and I realised why neither side won the fight." Aisha stated. Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"I think we all know exactly why." Daniel replied. "The fight ended because the cops and ambulance came."

"No, I know that." Aisha rolled her eyes. "I mean, why neither side really dominated the fight."

"I don't know. Why?" Demitri asked.

"It was because both sides were lacking something. Cobra Kai were lacking defense. Miyagi-Do were lacking offense."

"Defense wins championships." Daniel shrugged. Aisha nodded.

"Maybe so. But defense isn't going to help us win a fight against 25 people. Which is why I'm suggesting this. Why don't we bring together you, Mr. Larusso, and the other best karate sensei in the valley and have them, together, train us for a fight against the Cobras. We only got half the training we needed last time. Cobra Kai only has half of the training needed now. If we can build both parts of training as well as possible, we can beat them in a fight. I know we can."

Daniel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"The other best sensei? Who are you…" Daniel's voice trailed off when he realised who Aisha was referring to. "No! No way in hell! I'm not working together with that man!"

"Come on, Mr. Larusso! It's our only hope of ever beating Cobra Kai!" Aisha exclaimed. Daniel groaned and put his head in his hands. He understood what Aisha was saying, and it was a good plan to be fair, but he couldn't. He couldn't work with the man who had cast a dark shadow over him his whole life.

"Look, even if I was on board with this plan, I can't help you. Samantha, your mother put an end to me teaching karate, remember?"

Samantha shrugged.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her." She replied. Daniel looked extremely uneasy at this point.

"Guys, I'm sorry. If I do this and Amanda finds out, my marriage is over." Daniel stammered.

"And if you don't, your daughter is going to have her ass handed to her everyday until she graduates." Aisha countered. "So who's more important to you, Mr. Larusso?"

Daniel looked down and thought for several moments. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Daniel looked up and back at Aisha.

"Amanda will never find out?" He asked. Aisha shook her head.

"No, she won't." Aisha replied. Daniel nodded.

"Then, I'm in." He stated. Aisha smiled.

"Good. Demitri?"

Demitri reluctantly nodded.

"Yeah, I'm in." He responded. Aisha's smile grew even wider.

"Sam?" She asked. Sam nodded.

"Hell, yeah." She replied. Aisha took a deep breath and looked at her friend.

"Sam?" She said, slowly.

"Yeah?" Sam asked.

"You do realise that there's no way we're going to be able to do without… without one other person. Someone who knows how to fight, and is damn good at it. An All-Valley Champ. But more importantly, someone who knows Cobra Kai. Knows them well. Someone who can make Cobra Kai hesitate before fighting us."

Sam shook her head, furiously.

"No, no, no, no, no! And did I mention NO! And also… no!" Sam exclaimed. Demitri sighed.

"Look, Sam, I don't care what kind of issues YOU have with him. Miguel is one of my best friends, and he's the only reason I don't get beaten up by Hawk every time I walk into school."

"We don't need him though!" Sam complained.

"Yeah, we do." Aisha responded. "Despite everything, Miguel is still the best fighter in the valley. We can't do this without him. And besides, do you really think Sensei Lawrence will help us if Miguel isn't involved?"

Sam clenched her jaw. She couldn't believe this was happening, but at the same time, she knew she had no choice.

"Fine. Let's go ask them…"

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KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Miguel groaned and sat up on his bed. Well, not really a bed... his mattress. His bed had already been shipped off to Ecuador. He hadn't told anyone yet, not even Johnny, but he was leaving for Ecuador on Tuesday (in two days' time). His family had gone broke as they had spent almost all of their life savings on his hospital fees for the nine months he was in a coma. They didn't have enough money to live in the U.S anymore, not even in their tiny apartment in Reseda. They barely had any stuff so packing took just a week, and Johnny and Miguel's friends had no idea. He had planned to tell them a couple of weeks ago but chickened out and as their moving date got closer and closer, he found it harder and harder to tell them and he was left with two days left in the country and not having told the people who mean the most to him in the world.

Miguel walked over to the door and opened it slightly to see Daniel, Sam, Aisha and Demitri standing at the door. Although Miguel wanted to look annoyed at the sight of Sam and her dad, curiously took over and he looked at them, confused.

"Can I help you?" Miguel murmured.

"Yeah, Miguel, can we come in for a moment?" Aisha asked. Miguel's mind instantly remembered all of the boxes that were strewn all over his house and he knew that if he let them in, his secret would be out. He shook his head.

"No, sorry, my family's asleep." He replied. He then walked out of his house and shut the door quickly behind him, before turning back to the group.

"Look, I'm not looking for a fight and I've got a lot on my mind right now so if you would please leave now…"

"No, Miguel, look, we're not looking for a fight. We need your help." Aisha said. "Now, is Sensei Lawrence here? We kinda need to talk to the both of you."

Miguel was even more confused now. He assumed that because both Sam and her dad were there, they were looking for a fight with Johnny and Miguel.

"Yeah, sure, um… let me go get him." Miguel mumbled, walking over to Johnny's house across the hall and walking into the house. He walked over to Johnny's bedroom, where Johnny was sleeping. Miguel knocked on the door. "Yo, Sensei! Get up! There are people here to see you!"

"Tell them to fuck off!" Johnny grumbled into his pillow. Miguel shook his head.

"Oh, trust me, Sensei. You're not going to want to miss this…"

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"So let me get this straight, Larusso…" Johnny said after Daniel had told Miguel and Johnny the plan. "You want Diaz and I, the two people you and your daughter hate most in the world, to help you fight in a personal vendetta against students that I used to teach?"

"Look, I know it's a lot to ask…" Daniel started.

"Yeah, it's a LOT to ask." Miguel interrupted. "And why in the world would I help you? I don't owe any of you anything. And some of the Cobra Kais, Hawk and Tory and those guys, are my friends. Why would I choose to fight against them?"

"Because you know what they're doing is wrong." Sam replied, looking straight at Miguel as she responded. Miguel reluctantly met her gaze and looked at her. "You saw them in the park this evening. Kreese's Cobra Kai is psychotic. He's turned his students into merciless, ruthless monsters. You can hate me all you want but that doesn't change the fact that something needs to change. We don't have to be dating. Hell, we don't have to even like each other. But we need to work together if we want to save the Valley. So what do you say? Allies?"

Miguel looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, sorry." He replied. Sam's face dropped. She was 100% sure that Miguel would listen to reasoning.

"Wait… what? You're saying no?" Sam stammered. Everyone looked equally confused. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, I am. Sorry, I can't help you." Miguel murmured.

"Why not?" She snapped.

"Because I can't." Miguel muttered. "I want to, but I can't."

"BULLSHIT!" Sam shouted. "You don't want to help us! You're a Cobra Kai asshole and you will always be a Cobra Kai asshole."

"No, that's not true." Miguel whispered.

"You were their leader! You're always gonna be their leader! You're so much more dangerous than any of those Cobra Kais, even Hawk and Tory, and you know why? Because you're a wolf in sheep's clothing! You support what they're doing! You're just not man enough to admit it!"

"No. No. You don't get it. I _can't_ help you." Miguel said, his voice starting to rise in frustration.

"WHY?! WHY NOT?!" Sam shouted, her voice bellowing too.

"BECAUSE I'M MOVING BACK TO ECUADOR!"


	7. Chapter 7

" _BECAUSE I'M MOVING BACK TO ECUADOR!"_

The words slipped out of Miguel's mouth before he could stop himself and when they did, everyone fell into an astonished silence.

"You're… you're what?" Aisha stammered. Miguel looked down and took a deep breath.

"During my 9 month coma, my family spent nearly every cent they have on hospital fees. We're broke now so we can't afford to live here anymore."

"Oh my God." Aisha said. "When do you move though? It's not for a couple of months, right?"

"Tuesday." Miguel murmured.

"TUESDAY?!" Johnny shouted. Finn sighed.

"Look, I'm really sorry. I should have told you earlier…"

"YEAH! YOU SHOULD HAVE!" Johnny spat. "Seriously, Miguel? After everything we've been through, this is how it ends? You try to sneak out the country? Is that all we mean to you? I thought… I thought we were closer than that. But you know what? Message received!"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry!" Miguel snapped. "I wanted to tell you earlier, I wanted to tell you _all_ earlier, but I didn't know how. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm leaving in two days so can't help with your pointless feud. I'm sorry."

With that, Miguel walked back into his house, leaving just Johnny, Daniel, Aisha, Demitri and Sam outside, the 5 of them still reeling from the news. They didn't know how to react. Their short-lived stand against Cobra Kai was already over and someone who meant a lot to them. Johnny had obviously taken the news the worst of all. Miguel was more than just his neighbor or his student. He was his son, and he couldn't believe that in 48 hours, both of his sons would be out of state.

"Um… Johnny, should we leave?" Daniel asked, sympathy filling his voice. Despite his major issues with Johnny, he couldn't imagine how the man was feeling. He knew that Miguel was like a second kid and Daniel didn't even know what he would do if Samantha and Anthony were suddenly torn out of his life.

"No, stay here a moment." Johnny muttered, not really listening. His mind was whirring at a hundred miles an hour. He had to do something. He knew that. He couldn't let Miguel move to Ecuador. He knew that Ecuador wasn't what Miguel wanted. Miguel wanted to live in the States. And as God was his witness, he was going to help Miguel achieve that. He knew what he needed to do. Ignoring Larusso, his daughter and their friends, he walked over to Miguel's house and banged on the door. "OPEN UP, IT'S ME!" He shouted. A few moments later, the door swung open and Carmen opened it. She smiled at him.

"Johnny. Hey. I heard Miguel just told you." She said, gently.

"Can we talk? You, me, Miguel?" He asked, urgently. She looked at him, confused, and nodded.

"Miguel!" Carmen called. Miguel emerged from his room moments later, a few loose tears on his cheeks and his eyes etched with sadness. When he saw his sensei, he sniffed back the tears and looked at him.

"Hey, sensei, look, I don't know what else to say. I'm really sorry and I…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I forgive you." Johnny snapped. "Look, Carmen, I've got a proposition for you. I know Miguel doesn't want to move, and you and I both know that if he moves back to Ecuador now, he's never getting out. So why doesn't he stay here and live with me? I've got a good job now as a private school high school gym teacher. I can support him for the year while you and his grandmother find your feet in Ecuador. Help him with college applications and visits and all that."

"Wait… you would really do that for me?" Miguel asked, absolutely astonished. Johnny nodded.

"In a heartbeat." He replied. "So what do you say, Carmen? Trust me. I swear, I will not let you down."

Carmen looked extremely torn. On one hand, she knew that living in the States would be infinitely better for Miguel than living in Ecuador, and he probably wouldn't be able to get into an American college if he went back to Ecuador. But on the other, she didn't know if she'd be able to go a whole year without Miguel. He was her son, the most important person in her life.

"Um… Miguel, mami, come with me to my room. Johnny, wait here." She snapped. Miguel and his grandmother quickly followed her into the empty master bedroom of the house. All of their stuff was already in boxes so they just stood across the room and stared down each other.

"Mom, please, please let me do this. Please let me stay here." Miguel broke the silence by begging.

"No! Miguel, I'm sorry. You're my son. This move is going to be extremely hard as it is. I can't be worrying on top of that about my only son across the continent with a known alcoholic." Carmen stated.

"Come on, mom! You know he's more than that! You know when it comes to me, he doesn't mess around. And face it, he was more of a father to me than papi ever was!"

The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself, once again. Miguel's 'papi', or father, was the one major taboo topic in their family. The man was an absolute monster, physically and emotionally abusing Miguel and his mom for 14 years before Miguel's mom managed to escape with him out of the country. After everything they had been through with that immoral man, they agreed to never talk about him again. Carmen took a deep breath and looked at her son with an unreadable expression.

"Miguel… please wait outside with Johnny. Your yaya and I need to talk." Carmen said. Miguel slowly slunk out of the room, leaving just Carmen and his grandmother to talk. They looked at each other.

"He should stay here, you know?" His grandmother stated. Carmen glared at her.

"Seriously? That's an awful idea!"

"He's not your little Miggy anymore. He doesn't need your help with every single thing. For crying out loud, he's 18, Carmen!" his Grandmother responded. "Think about the past two years. It was Johnny who has been there for him every step of the way. That man truly cares about Miguel, almost as much as you do. Shouldn't Miguel stay in the place, the only place, where he has a shot at a future?"

Carmen looked down, tears filling her eyes. After all of the immense hardships her and Miguel had been through regarding his dad, they had been an extremely strong bond. She was devastated about him leaving for college next year, but to be leaving a whole year earlier? She didn't think she could take it. But in her heart of hearts, she knew that staying would be the right move. She nodded and the two of them walked into the other room to meet Johnny and Miguel. When they walked in, Johnny and Miguel instantly stood up, nervously.

"So…" Miguel asked, petrified. Carmen walked over to Johnny and stood an inch away from his face.

"You better not screw this up, Johnny." She growled, menacingly. Miguel's face broke out into a tentative smile.

"Wait… does that mean…" Miguel started. Carmen nodded.

"Yes. You can stay here." Carmen said. "Provided you call every week, you work your hardest, you stay in school… oh, and you get a part-time job! Do you understand?"

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"Well, I guess that's over." Demitri said. Larusso and his group of teenagers had gone back to the Larusso house and collapsed on the sofas in the living room.

"Well, not necessarily. We can still do this without Miguel." Daniel said, unconvincingly. Aisha scoffed.

"No offense Mr. Larusso, but I think we all know we can't. Having Miguel on board didn't just mean having the best fighter in the Valley on our side, but it also meant having someone who knows Cobra Kai better than anyone. Better than even me. He was extremely deep within their ranks so he was the key to stopping them. Not to mention the fact that we needed Johnny's teachings too, and he wouldn't do that without Miguel."

Sam was listening to the whole thing, still speechless in shock. Although she and Miguel were not about to get together anytime soon, she had always assumed that one day they would put aside their differences and at least be friends, if not more. But now, he was leaving and there was a good chance she would never see him again.

"So what now?" Sam asked, eventually. "We go back to school and keep getting beaten up and bullied by Cobra Kai? We keep having our lives ruined and terrified?"

"Not like we have a choice." Demitri murmured. All of them put their heads in their hands. They felt helpless. Powerless. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Daniel and Sam stood up and walked over to it. When they opened it, they saw Miguel and Johnny standing there, determined looks on their faces. Johnny looked right in the eyes of his arch nemesis and spoke…

"We're in…"

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"So how's this going to work?" Miguel asked as the 6 of them sat around on the patio. "Are we going to negotiate peace talks with the Cobras or something?"

"Ha! If only it were that easy! Sit down, shut up, and listen." Sam snapped. Miguel glared at her and sat on one of the deckchairs outside.

"So… what we were thinking is that we take them on, head-on." Daniel explained.

"Take them on? Take on 25 people with just 4. Oh, that's a great idea! NOT!" Johnny remarked. Daniel scowled at him.

"Look, you got any ideas, other than illegally injuring them beforehand and illegally targeting that injury during the fight?" Daniel spat back. Johnny quickly jumped to his face, Daniel doing the same, and the two men squared up to one another. Sam immediately stood up and pushed Johnny back, which caused Miguel to leap to his feet and stare down at her, causing an extremely tense 2v2 standoff. Finally, Aisha stood up and she stood in between the two parties.

"GUYS, STOP!" She shouted. "Look, we're only going to have a chance at pulling this off if we work together, so you guys have to call a temporary truce!"

The four rivals reluctantly nodded. Miguel looked at Sam and held out a hand.

"Truce?" He grumbled, frustratedly. Sam nodded and reluctantly shook it.

"Truce." She replied. Johnny and Daniel did the same thing. Although their team had absolutely no chemistry or morale, they knew deep down that they needed each other if they wanted any chance of succeeding. Once the four had sat down, Aisha smiled at them.

"See. Was that so hard?" She asked.

"Yes." Daniel, Samantha, Miguel and Johnny all said at the same time. Aisha rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, Miguel, our plan was to challenge Cobra Kai to a fight scheduled for the week before graduation. A 25 on 4 fight. Yes, that sounds dumb. Yes, that sounds like suicide. But it's all we've got." Aisha said.

"What we're planning to do is have Johnny train us for half the year. He can teach us all of the things he used to teach as part of his Cobra Kai." Demitri explained. "Then, for the other half of the year, Daniel is going to teach us his Miyagi-Do style training. We believe that if we learn the offensive skills from Cobra Kai and the defensive skills from Miyagi-Do, we'll have the best of both worlds and that will be enough to overpower Kreese's Cobra Kai."

"Stands to reason." Miguel nodded. "Just one thing though. Why should Cobra Kai fight us?"

Everyone looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Demitri asked, disbelieving. Miguel shook his head.

"Sorry. Let me rephrase that. Why should Cobra Kai wait until the end of the year to fight us? What's to stop them from attacking us tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that? What's in it for them? We need some kind of bargaining chip. Something that will make them play by our terms and wait until June."

Everyone looked at each other. They knew Miguel was right. Kreese and Cobra Kai were probably the last people who would stick to their word, so they needed a bargaining chip.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Daniel asked.

"Honestly?" Miguel asked. Daniel nodded. "If we lose, we tie Sam and Demitri's hands behind their backs and let the Cobras have their way with them."

"Woah, woah, woah! You want to sacrifice us?!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel shrugged.

"They're not going to kill you." Miguel stated. "Just beat the living shit out of you."

"Gee, I feel soooo much better all of a sudden!" Sam exclaimed.

"You got a better idea?" Miguel snapped. Everyone fell silent again. Eventually Johnny broke the silence.

"Miguel, what if we lose?" Johnny asked, slightly unsure.

"We don't." Miguel replied simply. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but Sam and Demitri are really the only people Cobra Kai want. I know these people. They're like leopards. They will stalk their prey for as long as necessary if it means eventually getting what they want. If we promise them Sam and Demitri, they _will_ wait out until June."

Everyone looked at each other nervously.

"Sam, Demitri, is this okay with you?" Daniel asked, concerned. Demitri reluctantly nodded.

"We'd better not lose." Demitri growled.

"We won't." Miguel replied. "Sam?"

Sam took a deep breath and looked at Miguel.

"Let's do it…"

24 hours later, the 6 rebels had successfully challenged Cobra Kai to an all-out brawl. May 31st. The Valley. No holds barred. It was going to be the fight of their lives, so good thing they had all of senior year to prepare…


	8. Chapter 8

"You've all trained hard before in your respective dojos! You've gotten faster. Stronger. Tougher." Johnny shouted. The 6 of them were in the forest at dawn the next day and the four kids were about to start the Cobra Kai half of training. "You've all done your best. You're ready for this tournament, am I right?"

"YES, SENSEI!" The four kids yelled.

"WRONG!" Johnny shouted, hurling his beer can at Miguel, and it bounced off his head, causing him to glare at Johnny, annoyed. "Your best is shit! If you want to win this fight, you've gotta give me better than your best. Which is why from now on, you're gonna get my worst. Do you understand?"

"YES, SENSEI!" The four kids yelled. At that moment, the infamous cement truck pulled up to their spot on the edge of the forest and the driver stepped out. Johnny walked over to him.

"Thanks, Cutter. I'll take it from here." He said. Cutter fistbumped him and then looked over and saw the four teenagers. He glared at Johnny.

"Seriously? Kids? Again?" He spat.

"Hey, you want your bar tab paid off or not?" Johnny snapped. Cutter put his hands up.

"Look, you get caught, you take the heat." He said, and he walked away. Johnny then turned to the four teenagers.

"You think winning your respective fights in the school fight gives you the right to goof off? Well, I got news for you. Winning one fight don't mean squat." Johnny growled, looking straight at Daniel as he said it. Daniel rolled his eyes. "A true champion never stops training! You gotta keep moving forward… or else you could get stuck exactly where you are. It's like the cement in this truck. If that drum doesn't start turning, the cement inside will harden and get stuck. Is that what you want to happen to you?!"

"NO SENSEI!"

"Good." He nodded. "Diaz, Robinson, you two have done this before. The four of you are going to climb up, get inside and make it spin!"

Miguel and Aisha started walking towards the cement truck but Demitri and Sam stayed rooted to the spot in shock and horror.

"Johnny, you can't be serious!" Daniel exclaimed. "They'll… they'll die!"

"Look, you asked me to train you my way, so Larusso jr., Mouth, you can either GET IN THE DAMN TRUCK, or I'm out!" Johnny spat. Slowly, Demitri and Sam also shuffled towards the truck. Miguel was the first to clamber into the cement truck and he and Aisha couldn't help but grin as they watched the looks of pure fear in the eyes of Demitri and Sam as they stepped inside too.

"Ugh, this is weird." Demitri remarked as he trudged around in the cement that had gathered to the bottom of the truck."

"Not to mention extremely dangerous." Sam pointed out. Miguel sighed.

"Sam… shut up." He growled, glaring at her. She scowled back at him and the four students put their hands on one side of the truck, preparing to push.

"Well, don't just stand there! You wanna get stuck! Push!" Johnny shouted. Miguel nodded.

"Come on, guys. Let's do it." Miguel stated. The four of them hurled themselves at the side of the cement truck but despite the force they were pushing with, it wouldn't move.

"LET'S GO, GUYS! MOVE IT!" Johnny bellowed from outside.

"I hope your sensei knows what he's doing." Sam turned and said to Miguel as they pushed. Miguel shrugged.

"Don't worry. Johnny always knows what he's doing. Well… 50% of the time. He's drunk the other 50." Miguel replied.

"Gee, that's reassuring." Sam remarked, sarcastically. Miguel chuckled and the two of them actually smiled at each other for the first time in what seemed like a millennium. Meanwhile, outside, Daniel was getting increasingly worried as the mixer was yet to move.

"Johnny, this seems dangerous." Daniel stammered as he started to walk towards the truck to stop the exercise. Johnny held him back though.

"Don't worry. I got this." He growled, before shouting into the truck… "LET'S GO, GUYS! MOVE IT!"

Meanwhile, the cement mixer was finally starting to spin under the strain of the four tenagers. They were all finally working in unison, and that's what put them over the edge and started spinning the mixer. Soon, the mixer was spinning at full speed and the teenagers grinned at each other.

"You should all be proud of yourselves." Johnny said as he helped hose the four teenagers down after the drill. "I know I'm proud. Diaz, Robinson, Mouth, your parents would be proud, too, if you told them what we did here today, WHICH WE WON'T! You pushed forward like champions. Never stopping. Never being satisfied. Never giving up. And if you keep pushing and keep moving forward, you're gonna go to places you never even dreamed of. You know how you did that, right? You worked together. In unison. Harmony. That's why I want the four of you to spend practically every moment with each other! Eat together, win together, sleep together, win together, lose together! You're a team, and working as a team is the only way you're gonna beat Cobra Kai!"

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So that's exactly what they did over the course of the next few months. They didn't just become a team. They became more of a family. All 6 of them spent most of their time at the Larusso house, and Miguel became much, much closer with both Demitri and Sam. In fact, the two of them had quickly become his two closest friends. Demitri and Miguel had become brothers, there was no other way to put it. They fought like brothers. Messed with each other like brothers. Bonded like brothers. The same had happened between Sam and Aisha. The four of them had an insane amount in common. The only problem with their current arrangement was that Amanda didn't know that they were practising karate. Their cover story about why the 6 of them were around so often was that it was a 'study group' to help them prepare for college applications. Thankfully, that excuse seemed to fool her, made more believable by the fact that they were all nerds.

One morning, Miguel was sitting in the living room of the Larusso house, watching a Chargers game on TV.

"What hell are you doing, running at 3rd and 15?!" Miguel shouted at the TV. "Pass it! Pass it!"

"You know, if I were you, Miguel, I'd be more concerned with _passing_ the SATs." Demitri said as he walked into the room with a bundle of books in his arms.

"Yeah, and if I were you, I'd get a red nose and a set of big floppy shoes and call it a day." Miguel responded. Demitri rolled his eyes.

"Laugh now, but in 10 years, I'll be a successful lawyer and you'll be asking people if they want extra ketchup." Demitri replied. Miguel glared at him.

"Demitri, if you paid attention in class like I do, you'd know you can't study for an aptitude test." Miguel remarked. "You either have it… like me, or you don't… like you."

"Yeah right." Demitri rolled his eyes. "And in kindergarten, they told me it didn't make a difference where you put the round peg. Next thing I knew, I was in the back of the class with the guy who ate paste. Never again! I'm studying all weekend!"

"Mitri, that is not normal, man. What kind of fool works night and day?" Miguel asked. At that moment, Daniel walked into the room, his briefcase in his hand.

"Boy, do I have a lot of work to do this weekend. I'm going to be working night and day!" Daniel exclaimed as he walked past them. Miguel looked at Demitri and laughed.

"Hey, I just went through my practice test again and I just shaved seven seconds off my time. Do you know how valuable that is?" Demitri argued. Miguel sarcastically clapped his hands.

"Woah, Nellie! Very good! You're gonna get a gold star on your chart right next to "put away toys" and "stayed dry through the night."" Miguel remarked, patting Demitri on the head.

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Soon, the day of the SAT rolled around and Samantha was being chased through the house by an extremely obnoxious Demitri. She entered the kitchen where Daniel and Aisha were eating breakfast.

"Demitri, would you quit it?" Sam snapped.

"Quit, from the Latin, _Quietare_. To be at rest or satisfied." Demitri recited.

"He's been doing this all morning." Sam grumbled to Aisha. "It's really irritating."

"Irritate. From the Latin, _Irritate_. To excite or stimulate." Demitri recited.

"Okay, Demitri, that's enough." Aisha stated.

"Aisha, your SATs are this morning. Demitri's just trying to be prepared." Daniel said, trying to calm down the annoyed children.

"Prepare. From the Latin, _Preparare._ To make ready." Demitri recited.

"Demitri… shut up." Daniel said, eventually.

"Shut up. From the big man. Mr. Larusso." Aisha joked. Suddenly, the back door swung open and Miguel burst into the kitchen, singing to himself.

" _My grandma and your grandma_." He sang. Sam smiled and sang with him.

" _Sitting by the fire!_ " They sang together. _"My Grandma told your Grandma, she gonna set your flag on fire!"_

"Come on, Sam, come here!" Miguel exclaimed, pulling out a skipping rope from his bag. Sam laughed and ran over to him. The two of them started jumping rope as they sang.

" _We're talkin' about hey now! Hey now! Hey now! Hey now!"_ They sang as they jumped the rope. Daniel stood up, annoyed, and Miguel walked over to him.

"Come on, Mr. Larusso, do it with me now!" Miguel exclaimed. "Talkin' bout Hey Now…"

Daniel, however, didn't jump, and it caused Miguel to be inches away from Daniel's angry face.

"Is this how you prepare for a test?" Daniel snapped.

"Well… yeah, sort of." Miguel laughed. "See, what it was is because we're going to be sitting down for a long time, I thought I'd do something to get my blood flowing."

"Come on, guys. We'd better be going." Demitri said. "I want to get there early so I can get my pick of the pencils!"

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So the SAT came and went. Everyone temporarily forgot about it. That was until Miguel came walking into the Larusso house, a bunch of envelopes in his hands.

"Yo, yo, yo! Mail call!" Miguel announced. "Junk mail, bills, SAT scores. Bills. Jesus, you guys have a lot of bills." Miguel remarked. Demitri, who was sitting on the couch with Daniel, Johnny, Aisha and Sam, leapt to his feet.

"Did you say SAT scores?" He asked. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Give me mine." He said, snatching an envelope clean out of Miguel's hands. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Yo, Demitri, unless your scores are right next to the pool cleaning bill, I think you got the wrong envelope." Miguel remarked. Demitri blushed and Miguel handed him his envelope. "You know, I don't care what these results say. You're a dumb young man."

Demitri rolled his eyes. Miguel then handed Sam and Aisha their respective envelopes. They all opened their envelopes at the same time, and Aisha and Sam smiled.

"I got a 150." Aisha stated.

"I got a 138." Sam said. "Demitri, what about you?"

"Yes! Yes! I got a 172!" Demitri exclaimed. "I'm smart. I'm brilliant! I'm the most intelligent person who ever lived!"

"That is really good, Demitri. All of you, great stuff." Daniel congratulated them. "Miguel, what about you?"

"Um… I got a 98." Miguel said, quietly. Demitri started laughing hysterically at him. Miguel didn't lash out at him. He just looked down.

"Mouth, that's enough." Johnny snapped.

"Miguel, a 98 is… a pretty good reason to take the test again." Daniel said.

"I'd be happy to help you out." Demitri said. "I _am_ in the 90th percentile."

Miguel snatched the grade sheet from Demitri and looked at it.

"Let me see that." He growled. He then compared his scores to Demitri's and he realised something. His eyes widened. "You said you got a 172? Huh? I beat you, buddy!"

Demitri looked at the papers and his eyes widened.

"You got 220? That's impossible!" Demitri shouted.

"Oh, the 98 is my percentile!" Miguel exclaimed. Demitri then realised something in horror.

"But… but then, that means that…" Demitri stammered. Miguel started laughing hysterically in the exact same mocking way Demitri did.

" _I'm_ the most intelligent guy in the world! You know, Demitri, you're gonna love drivin' those big rigs, man."


	9. Chapter 9

"I don't believe it! You couldn't have done better than me!" Demitri exclaimed later that day. Miguel was trying to help clean the Larusso house but Demitri kept hounding him about his SAT score. "Somewhere, there's an Asian Miguel Diaz and he's really ticked!"

"Demitri, it was 7 measly little percentile points. But I won't hesitate to throw it in your face if you don't leave me alone!"

"Well, everyone still knows I have the superior intellect!" Demitri called after Miguel as they started cleaning the windows. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Then why are you using car wax on the window, dumbass?!" Miguel snapped. "Dis is a window. Dis is Windex. Can you say that, little boy?"

"I'm telling you, Miguel, it was a computing error." Demitri snapped. "I'll bet anything."

"About, what? About… 90 bucks?" Miguel joked.

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"Admit it, Miguel. I beat you in gym!" Demitri exclaimed as the two of them walked into History class the next day. Miguel sighed.

"OK. Fine, Demitri. You got your shorts on way faster than me." Miguel remarked, sarcastically.

"All right!" Demitri exclaimed. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"'Course yours have a lot shorter distance to travel." Miguel joked.

"It doesn't matter anyway. I've got this whole SAT thing all figured out. I was just nervous. I lost my stride. But now everything's back to normal. Demitri is back on top."

"Good morning class!" The teacher announced as he entered the room. "Today, we're going to have a little pop quiz."

Demitri's face dropped.

"A… quiz? Uh, B-but, Mr. Jones, I didn't have a chance to study!" Demitri cried.

"That's why they call it a _pop_ quiz, Demitri." Mr. Jones said as he handed everyone a quiz. "Anyway, you know the rules. I'll be in the back listening to the game. Good luck, men."

So the pop quiz started and Miguel started writing immediately. However, Demitri's mind was completely blank. His SAT score ran through his mind and as he looked at Miguel, their futures flashed through his eyes. He saw Miguel as a surgeon, a lawyer, an architect, the president. And he saw himself as a lonely McDonald's worker. Slowly, Demitri's eyes slid towards Miguel's paper and he glanced at Miguel's work until he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. Demitri's heart dropped. It was Mr. Jones…

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"My life is over!" Demitri cried as him and Miguel stood in the principal's office later that day, waiting to be called in. "I'll be expelled. They'll send me away. I'll have to get a jheri curl and a tattoo. I'll be subjected to overcrowding, bad food and daily threats of personal violence!"

"Demitri, I don't think they'll send you to prison for cheating on a test." Miguel said. Demitri shook his head.

"I'm not talking about prison. I'm talking about public school!" Demitri exclaimed, before starting to hyperventilate.

"Would you hold it together, Demitri? Look, man, I'll get you through this." Miguel reassured him.

"But I tried to cheat off your paper. What's in it for you?" Demitri snapped.

"Well, despite all of the digs we make, you _are_ my best friend, man." Miguel replied. "Look, sit down. Here they come. Follow my lead."

The principal and Mr. Jones walked into the office moments later and Miguel smiled at them.

"Dr. T. How are you doing? Hey, how's Carol and the kids?" Miguel asked, trying to butter the man up.

"Oh, fine, Miguel. And the back?" Dr. T asked.

"Oh, a lot better now." Miguel replied. "Hey, I love what you've done with the office!"

"Well… thank you." Dr. T smiled, before turning to Demitri. "Now, Demitri, I, uh… must say I'm surprised to see you. What is this all about, Mr. Jones?"

"All I know is this…" Mr. Jones stated. "I went through four years of school on a football scholarship and graduated with honors, so I know a thing or two about cheating."

"Look, Mr. Jones, are you familiar with the sports injury Cerebrospinal Refrectionation?" Miguel asked, lying through his teeth. Mr. Jones scoffed.

"Sure. I mean… isn't everyone?" Mr. Jones remarked, even though he had no idea what Miguel was talking about. Of course he didn't. It was a made-up injury.

"Well, then you are familiar with how Refrectionation constrains the range of motion of the upper neck."

"Ahem. Uh… Sure. Yeah, that's it. That's one symptom, yes." Mr. Jones stammered.

"Then you know that a Refrectionation is often brought on by some form of stress and it manifests itself in a compulsive craning of the neck." Miguel lied. "Oh, Demitri, you look like you have one coming on now! You don't happen to be feeling any stress now, do you?!"

"No, I… OWW!" Demitri exclaimed as Miguel slapped him in the back of the head. Demitri realised Miguel's lie and he grabbed his neck. "Y-yes, I think I feel it comin' on."

"Demitri, I'm surprised you didn't come to me sooner." Mr. Jones said.

"He's probably a little embarrassed, Mr. Jones. I mean, as you can see, he looks like a complete idiot." Miguel remarked as he pointed at Demitri, who was craning his neck wildly.

"Well, that's… very true." Mr. Jones admitted. "You know, I-I think there seems to be just a big misunderstanding here. Dr. Thorvald, there is no cheating going on here. This is obviously a case of Cerebrospinal… uh… whatever he said. You're dismissed, boys."

Miguel and Demitri nodded and stood up, walking towards the door. When they were about to leave the room, Demitri turned to Miguel.

"Miguel, you did it! You got me out of cheating! Yes!" Demitri exclaimed, oblivious to the teachers at the back of the room. Miguel put his head in his hands and turned back to the angry teachers…

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That night, Miguel and Demitri had finished receiving an earful from the teachers, an earful from their parents, so Miguel headed over to the Larusso house. The back door was, as always, unlocked, so he walked into the empty house. It was 9 at night so no one was in the living room so he headed up to Sam's room. He knocked on the door and entered, to see Sam scrambling to cover some papers on her desk. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, Sam, do I even want to know what you were drawing?" Miguel asked, laughing. Sam blushed.

"It doesn't matter." She murmured.

"Come on. What is it? Is it something dirty?" Miguel asked, eagerly. Sam shook her head and giggled.

"No, it's not something dirty." She responded.

"Is it an insult towards anyone?" Miguel asked.

"No." Sam shook her head.

"I'm quickly losing interest." Miguel joked. "Nah, I'm kidding. What is it? Come on! Show me! Show me!"

"OK, fine." Sam muttered. "You know how I want to be an architect after high school?"

"Yeah, sure." Miguel nodded.

"Well, just for fun, I tried drawing a rough design of plans for a skyscraper." Sam explained. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Ooh, I've gotta see this." Miguel stated. Sam slowly pulled the massive piece of paper out of where she hid it, and she unravelled the roll. When Miguel looked at it, his eyes widened. It was absolutely gorgeous. Sam had thought of everything. It was like nothing Miguel had ever seen before. And little did they know that in fifteen years, Sam and Miguel would take their kids to Spokane and point out a skyscraper. That skyscraper was the first building Sam had ever designed, and that night in Sam's room was the first time Sam had shown anyone her first drawing of it.

"Wow." Miguel murmured. "Sam, this is amazing."

"Thanks." She smiled. "It's not like it'll come to anything though."

"I don't know." Miguel shook his head. "You're definitely going places, Sam. You're really good."

"Thanks, Miguel." She replied. "Anyways, can I help you with something?"

Miguel took a deep breath.

"I came to talk to you." He started. "About our argument back in August."

Sam's face dropped. The Cobra Kai vs. Miyagi-Do was the one taboo topic that the 6 rebels never talked about. They didn't want to ruin the team morale that they had worked so hard to build by splitting the group in two because of the argument.

"Miguel, we don't have to talk about this." Sam stammered. Miguel shook his head furiously.

"No, we do. I owe you a long overdue apology." Miguel stated. "I was an absolute jackass to you. I was too blind to realise that there are two sides to every story, and the story didn't even have anything to do with our relationship. I blamed you for things you simply didn't do. I did what I did last time, and what I've been doing my entire life and I wrecked something that could've been great. I'm not asking to get back together. Quite frankly, I don't deserve someone like you, Sam. You're kind. You're sweet. You're smart. You're funny. You have a light inside of you that brightens the world, and a smile so infectious that it captures the heart of anyone lucky enough to see it. You're way more than I ever deserved, and in case I haven't said it before, I want to thank you for making me so happy for those 6 months we dated, and then for staying by my side during my recovery. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for your kindness and your patience. I'm so sorry for what I did. I'm so sorry." Miguel's voice, filled with remorse and regret, cracked by this point. He was dangerously close to tears. What he had put Sam through was absolutely horrific, and his heart throbbed in pain every time he thought about it. It was a constant pain that seared on his chest and something he saw whenever he looked in the mirror. "All I'm asking is that maybe would we be able to get a fresh start?"

Samantha smiled and nodded, holding out a hand.

"Samantha Larusso. Nice to meet you." Samantha said. Miguel smiled faintly and shook it.

"Miguel Diaz." He replied. "You know, I have a friend named Samantha, and she's like the best person I know."

Samantha laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I think I know her actually. I hear she's really hot too." Samantha joked. Miguel chuckled. He was so glad that they had sorted out their issues. He was on the long road for redemption. He had treated her horribly and he needed to atone for it.


	10. Chapter 10

_**CHAPTER 10** _

**A/N**

**So, I have received a lot of PMs and reviews/comments recently and I wanted to clear the air about a couple of things.**

**1) Miguel's character.**

**Right now, everyone is talking about what a jackass Miguel is and has been during this fic. Don't worry. This is all part of the plan. This is a Miguel centric fic so I have a massive character arc in the story. Spoiler… him and Sam will get together eventually, but I think Miguel needs to clean up his act a bit first.**

**2) The first couple of chapters of the story.**

**I formally admit that I took a couple of paragraphs from the first 3 chapters of the fic from a fic that is on AO3 called The Imbalance of Nature. I did this because this fic is my favourite fic of any movie/TV show/book fic I have ever read, and I want to apologise to those I have offended by it. I want you all to know that I would NEVER try to make money or market off of someone else's work. I took these short passages from another fic because I LOVE this fic and I do not claim rights to the first three paragraphs. I have, in fact, now removed these passages and edited it accordingly. There is no more plagiarism. I swear.**

**If I could just ask one thing… could you please stop sending me hate reviews/PMs. It has really taken a huge toll on my mental health, with one PM actually threatening to murder me if they ever found out who I was and saw me. I thought was just a fun way for aspiring writers like me to put out our ideas. The environment has suddenly become extremely hostile and I beg you, if you hate me, please keep it to yourself as it is really hurting my already prevalent anxiety and depression issues.**

**3) The realisticness of the story**

**Of course, I know how unrealistic this story is. Something like this is not about to happen in real life. I KNOW THAT. But this is FANFICTION, not history class. I have read fanfics of Kreese being a vampire and Miyagi coming back to life to fight him, so please stop sending me hate messages for the realisticness of the story! If you have issues with the story, please keep it to yourself as like I said above, it is really messing with my head. You don't have to read my story if you don't want to, but don't insult me and INSULT MY FAMILY. Yes, that's right! I've had PMs from people who have no idea who I am insulting my family! Please stop. I beg you. Please stop.**


	11. Chapter 11

Senior year was going by faster than Miguel ever imagined it would. Between schoolwork and training for the final fight, he barely had time to breathe. It was already November and the temperatures were dropping. People had put their t-shirts and sundresses away and now wore coats and long sleeves to school. In addition, College applications were being sent out right and left. Miguel's family didn't really have enough money for college so a scholarship would be his only option and unfortunately, all of the universities he had applied to had rejected his scholarship application. Although Miguel was in the 98% percentile according to his SATs, he also missed nearly half of junior year while he was in his coma so he was missing a lot of credits. Miguel had, however, finally decided on what he wanted to study in the future. His strengths were in sciences and solving puzzles; all of the career quizzes he took pointed him in the direction of the military/government/police force but Miguel wasn't interested in putting himself in the line of fire in that way. Instead, he decided to study forensic science as he wanted to become a forensic scientist as part of the LAPD.

He had an interview at his final possibly - Stanford - the upcoming weekend and Sam was still waiting to hear back from Stanford and UCLA. They were the only two in their group who had not yet decided where to go. Driving home from school the day before his interview, Miguel felt very worried and nervous. The night before his interview, Miguel pulled into the Larusso driveway and went inside to find Sam making cookies in the kitchen. She looked up at her friend.

"Miguel, you have your interview with Stanford tomorrow. Let me to pick out something nice to wear."

Miguel rolled his eyes. As if he could forget! He was already very nervous.

"Sam, it doesn't matter to me what I wear." Miguel replied. Sam shook her head.

"First impressions are key. You know that! Your clothes are, you know…"

Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" He asked, indignantly

"Well, no offence, but they make you look like an average jock. Aisha and I went out and got some new clothes for you. They're upstairs in the guest room, go pick out something to wear."

Sam and Aisha? Miguel definitely didn't trust Sam and Aisha with his wardrobe.

"Go pick out something to wear, Miguel, just be done by eight."

"Why by 8?"

"Your hair is getting way too long and messy. You need to look nice at your interview. So I called the barber and made an appointment to get it cut. You haven't cut it in months."

"It's not even that bad!" Miguel exclaimed. "You should see Demitri's hair!"

"Well, he already knows what college he's going to. I'm not letting you go to your interview without a shorter, neater haircut."

Miguel rolled his eyes and walked up to his room. It was stressful enough as it was. The other schools he'd applied to had given him reasonable financial aid, but Stanford was the only school offering him an opportunity for a full academic scholarship. He thought he looked fine and was annoyed with his friend. He got out his phone and texted Johnny…

**Miguel** : _Sam and Aisha bought some clothes for me to pick out for my interview... what's wrong with the clothes I already have?_

Johnny texted back pretty quickly…

**Johnny** : _They just care, Miguel._

**Miguel** : _Sam's also making me get my hair cut…_

**Johnny** : _Good. You need it_

**Miguel** : _Not you too!_

**Johnny** : _Sorry buddy! This comes from the nicest possible place… YOU NEED A HAIRCUT!_

**Miguel** : _Lol, fine. Whatever. I'm staying the night in the Larusso house. I'll see you tomorrow after my interview_

**Johnny** : Good luck!

**Miguel** : _Thx_

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The next day, Miguel was sitting in the Stanford admissions office, wearing the outfit Sam had picked out for him. The waiting was painful. Miguel spent most of the wait fiddling with his sleeves. Finally, an admissions representative came into the waiting room.

"Miguel Diaz?"

Miguel stood up.

"That's me."

"Hi Miguel, I'm your admissions counselor, Patrick Williams. Let's go talk in my office."

Miguel followed the counselor to his office. This guy looked like he was barely out of college himself. Had he not been an admissions counselor, Miguel wouldn't have been as scared, but knowing he was didn't make the fears go away.

"Sit down, Miguel. Want something to drink? I've got Sprite, Pepsi and grape soda."

"Sprite, please."

The counselor got a Sprite out of his refrigerator and handed it to Miguel. Then he sat down and took out his notebook.

"So, tell me about yourself, Miguel."

"Well, I grew up in Ecuador for the first 14 years of my life. I grew up in, in all honesty, not the best household. My father was a very bad man but my mom and I managed to get out. I decided then and there that I'd do whatever I could to make her proud of me. She has sacrificed so much for me and I just want to show her that I was worth it."

This wasn't totally a lie, but it was partially so, but not in the obvious way. Patrick could hear the truth in his words so he nodded.

"I see. So how have you tried to make your mom proud of you?"

"Well, becoming a better son seemed like the obvious answer. I became a more… involved person in all aspects of my life. Sure I made quite a few mistakes all along the way, but I didn't run away and deteriorate. I stayed."

The admissions man smiled.

"That's great. So I was reading your application and you said that your life was turned around by karate? What exactly happened there?"

Miguel smiled. Now he could talk about his real passion.

"Yeah, it was. When I first moved to Reseda when I was 16, I had no friends, I had just been through an extremely tough ordeal, and I then was getting bullied in school. My neighbor at the time just happened to be an ex-All Valley Karate champion. After a lot of begging, he agreed to teach me karate so I'd be able to face my bullies. Little did I realise that I wouldn't just get physically stronger and faster; I would also get a lot mentally stronger. Karate absolutely changed my life, and I know that I would not be where I am now without it."

"That sounds really cool. Now, what about your life outside? What are your friends like? What kind of relationship do you have with your family?"

"Well, like I said earlier, I'm really close with my mom and I do have quite a few friends but, as sad as this might sound, my best friend in the world is my Karate Instructor. His name is Johnny Lawrence and he basically helped pull me out of the pits not once, but three times. First of all, he taught me karate in the first place, as I mentioned. Then, after I got severely injured, it was him who was in charge of helping me with my rehab and he helped me recover from lower body paralysis in literally 6 months. And then the third time was a couple of months ago. After my injury, my family couldn't afford to live here anymore so I was about to move back to Ecuador. Johnny, however, offered to become my legal guardian for the year and let me live with him while my mom and grandma moved back to Ecuador so I would get the opportunities here that I wouldn't get there. And you asked about my friends? Well, my three best friends in the world are all part of my karate group as well. I can talk to all of these people I talked about about anything. I never have to worry about what they are going to say or do because I know they'll be there for me. If it's three in the morning, they'll still be willing to answer my call. They accept me, they understand me and they love me for who I am. They make me a better person."

"We have your transcripts here. Keeping with what you told me, you had pretty good grades in your freshman and sophomore years. You sort of dropped in your junior year because of abysmal attendance. You got pretty low grades that year, but you've improved drastically since. You made the honor roll last semester, I see. And your SAT scores were extremely impressive. 98th percentile. I must say, that is really extraordinary."

"Again, I owe that to my friends. They helped me become motivated to be a better student. We spent hours preparing for the SATs."

"Right. And one more thing. I see here that you tended to score extremely high grades in science and logic related subjects, but lower in creative arts. And it says here that you want to study forensic sciences. Why's that?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag or anything but I've always been pretty good at biology, but it's more than that. I don't want to become a forensic scientist to put bad guys behind bars. I want to become a forensic scientist to help the victims. The innocents. Help their families rest a little easier too."

"OK, I think I've got all I need. Thank you, Miguel. I'll make a recommendation to the scholarship committee. You should hear back within two to four weeks."

"Okay, thank you."


	12. Chapter 12

A couple of weeks later and Miguel had all but forgotten about the interview. His life was moving too fast for him to be hung up on past events. Instead, now that he had put all of his college applications out of the way, he could focus fully on training. Johnny's training regimen had three clear parts: strength, speed and skill. The four students had finally finished part 1, so speed was their next goal. This part was a lot more fun. Demitri had managed to hook them up with speedometer technology so they were able to track their speed gains and push themselves harder. They worked on a trail at the edge of Reseda, running a 400m sprint down a path and timing their speed. Aisha was the slowest by quite some margain, Demitri was next, Sam was next, and Miguel was by far he fastest. Speed was the one thing he could really take pride in in training. He had been running his whole life, both literally and figuratively. That night, the 6 rebels were gathered in the Larusso house and were analysing their heart rate and their speed statistics. They were watching Miguel's run and Demitri whistled as Miguel charged through the finish line at a blazing pace on the video.

"Dude, that was insane!" Demitri exclaimed.

"Yeah, tonight was the fastest you've ever run." Sam stated.

"Yes, your training is paying off. The 4 of yours' speeds are going to be key in fighting at a numbers disadvantage." Daniel said.

"I can still get faster. I know I can." Miguel remarked, determined.

"And you will one day I'm sure. But for today, I'd say you've fulfilled your speed quota." Daniel replied. "Proper rest is what you need, as do we all."

"Better yet, what we all need is a proper drink. Who's up a round?!" Aisha asked.

"Sorry, it's Iron Eagle franchise marathon night with Johnny. I can't. But I'll see you guys tomorrow, all right?" Miguel said.

"Ok. Bye!" Sam called as Miguel left the house.

"Night!" Miguel called back. Demitri also had to leave, leaving just Aisha and Sam left in the house.

"What about you? Drinks on me? I can get us into a bar pretty easily." Aisha asked.

"I think I'll pass." Sam replied.

"You know what your problem is?" Aisha remarked. Sam shrugged.

"I don't know. What?" Sam asked.

"You need to live a little." Aisha stated. Sam's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"What I just said. You need some hobbies. Some passions. You don't really have a life." Aisha remarked.

"I do too!" Sam exclaimed, indignantly.

"I don't know, Sam. Doesn't seem like you do. Anyways, see you tomorrow. Good night!" Aisha said as she left the house. Sam scowled to herself. She did too have a life!

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A couple of days later, Sam and Miguel were at the Larusso house, analysing each other's running techniques and using Demitri's near unlimited technology to try and improve

"So if you look at the angle your body is here and maybe lean a couple of degrees more downwards, it could actually have a major effect on your speed." Sam pointed. Miguel nodded and looked at her. He read her body and her facial expressions and could immediately tell something was wrong.

"Something bothering you?" He asked, concerned. Although they weren't about to get together, Sam was definitely one of his best friends. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you ask that?" She asked.

"You're doing that biting-your-lower-lip thing you do when something's bothering you." Miguel stated. He could practically always tell what Sam was thinking based on her body language. She was pretty expressive in that way. Him on the other hand was like a brick wall, showing no emotion on the outside whatsoever. Sam blushed.

"I'm-I'm fine." Sam replied.

"Okay." Miguel nodded, not convinced.

"Aisha says I don't have a life!" Sam blurted out suddenly. Miguel chuckled.

"I mean… you don't, do you?" He said.

"I do!" She exclaimed. "I cook and I eat. And I read and I train with you."

"So… what you're saying is you do everything that has nothing to do with having a life." Miguel pointed out.

"You don't have to be rude about it!" Sam laughed.

"Hey, I'm not doing any better than you." Miguel admitted. "My social life consists of training with you guys and Netflix."

"We are quite the pair, Mr. Diaz." She remarked.

"Yes we are, Ms. Larusso." He agreed. "Okay, this is just sad. We're doing something tonight! We're going out to a bar, and we're drinking! LOTS!"

"Deal." Sam laughed.

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That night, Miguel sat at an extremely rough karaoke bar and watched the god-awful singer at the front. He was still waiting for Sam to show up. She was half an hour late but he really hoped she showed up because he felt like both of them needed the stress relief. Finally, when Miguel was about to leave, the door to the bar swung open and in stepped a gorgeous brunette in a skin-tight sparkly dress. Miguel had to blink twice to realise that it was actually Sam and had to close his mouth to prevent himself from drooling. Sam smiled and walked over to him.

"Hey." She said. Miguel didn't say anything. He was still slightly in shock at how knock-out gorgeous she was. "What?" She asked, noticing his peculiar expression.

"Oh, uh… nothing. Uh… you look… really nice." Miguel stammered.

"I don't always dress like a high school principal." Sam laughed. Miguel chuckled.

"You know, I was thinking. What is wrong with us?!" He exclaimed. "We're in our late teenage years. We should be having fun! We should meet people! Go on lots of dates! Instead what? We do karate and watch Netflix!"

Sam raised her glass.

"Well, here's to liquid courage." She stated and downed the sipping whiskey all in one gulp, coughing furiously after.

"Woah… that is… very fast." Miguel remarked. "You drank all of it!"

"Excuse me!" Sam called to the bartender. "I would like to start a tab!"

Miguel raised an eyebrow at her and saw her already slightly drunken smile. He chuckled to himself and made a note not to drink too much himself. He could tell that it was going to be a fun night, even without him consuming too much as he knew that Sam was about to drink the bar dry.

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Two hours later and he was absolutely right. Sam was insanely drunk and had just wandered towards the bathroom, he was presuming. Miguel then walked up to the bar.

"Hey. Could I get a water, please?" He asked the bartender. The bartender ignored him, presumably because he wasn't a hot girl, which seemed to be the only kind of person the bartender served. "Yo! Excuse me. For real?"

"MR. MIGUEL DIAZ!" A voice suddenly called from the front of the room. Miguel turned around to see Sam standing on stage, one of the karaoke mics in her hands. "Come on down! Or up! Come up here with me!"

Miguel shook his head. Even in his sober state, there was NO WAY he was getting up there and singing.

"Oh, come show them what you got!" Sam exclaimed, slurring her words in her drunkenness. "Come on! Miguel! Miguel! Miguel!"

Soon, the whole bar was chanting his name.

"MIGUEL! MIGUEL! MIGUEL!" The whole bar joined in. Miguel sighed. He didn't have much of a choice. He trudged towards the front of the room and over to Sam and the mic.

"Oh, look at him go! He's so fast!" Sam exclaimed.

"You know, I'm not much of a singer. And you're not much of a drinker." Miguel remarked.

"We are gonna bring this place down!" She exclaimed.

"Okay. Just… calm down." Miguel laughed. The backing track to Summer Nights came on moments later and Miguel prepared to sing with Sam.

**Sam:**

_Summer loving had me a blast_

_Summer loving happened so fast_

Sam's singing was absolutely awful. She was extremely drunk and it was hilarious for the whole bar to listen to her sing and cringe and laugh.

**Miguel:**

_I met a girl crazy for me_

Miguel on the hand, was actually an incredible singer. He had been through true horrors in the past and singing had always been a coping mechanism for him.

**Sam:**

_I met a boy, cute as can be_

**Miguel:**

_Summer days, driftin away_

**Together:**

_To, uh, oh, those summer nights_

**Sam:**

_Well-a, well-a, well-a, uhhhhh_

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"You're smart, you're fit and you can sing? What can't do you?!" Sam exclaimed once they were done singing. They walked back to the bar, where Sam picked up another drink and downed it.

"Stop you from drinking, apparently." Miguel laughed.

"I'm not even sure that was mine." Sam giggled. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay. See ya." Miguel said. Sam walked over to the bathroom, leaving just Miguel at the bar alone. "All right. Can I close out my tab, please?" He asked the bartender. The bartender once again ignored him. Suddenly, an extremely attractive girl walked over to the bar and glared at the bartender.

"Hey, Stevie! Can my friend here tap out?" She snapped. Stevie, the bartender, nodded.

"Sure thing, Linda." He replied, before walking away to bring Miguel the charge. Miguel turned to Linda, the girl, and smiled at her. She couldn't have been much older than him.

"Uh, thank you, Linda." He said.

"You're welcome, Miguel." She replied. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Um… how do you know my name?" He asked.

"Miguel! Miguel! Miguel!" She chanted quietly, referring to a couple of minutes ago. Miguel laughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah. Uh, sorry about us up there. We're not very good."

"Are you kidding? No, that was some of the best singing that I've heard come from that stage. You definitely made my ears happy. Don't worry." She said.

"Thanks." Miguel laughed.

"So, are you another sneak-in, too?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Miguel asked.

"You 17? 18?" She asked. Miguel laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. Is it that obvious?" He chuckled.

"What can I say? Game recognises game. I'm 18 too." She replied. "So, uh, was that your girlfriend up there?"

"Oh, um… no. Um… she's a friend." Miguel stammered. There was a brief awkward silence between the two for a moment, before Linda wrote her number on a nearby napkin.

"Here is my number. What you do with it now is up to you." She smiled before walking away. Finn nodded, smiled and pocketed the number. Moments later, Sam stumbled over to him.

"Miguel, I don't feel so good." Sam slurred, looking extremely pale. Miguel nodded and stood up.

"OK. Come on. Let's go." He said, urgently. The two of them rushed out of the bar and Sam hurled in the outside garbage can, Miguel holding her hair back and rubbing her back gently.

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Fifteen minutes later, they had made it back to the Larusso house. Thankfully, Daniel and Amanda were on a short getaway to Palm Springs and Anthony was sleeping so they made it into the house, unseen. Miguel led her up to her room.

"Are we still driving?" Sam slurred as they walked inside.

"No, we are here." Miguel laughed.

"Ugh. Vodka and your dumb pick-up truck. Not a good combination." She muttered. The pick-up truck. Miguel's most prized possession. It was a gift from Johnny for his 18th birthday a month ago. It was a colossal Navy Chevy pickup and Miguel absolutely adored it.

"Haha. Come on." Miguel said, gently, as he turned on the light to her room.

"So, are you gonna call her?" Samantha asked. Miguel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Who?" Miguel asked.

"That girl. The one who gave you her number." She asked.

"I hadn't really thought about it." Miguel stammered.

"Yes, you have. But I know you. You won't." Sam remarked. "You'll let her slip right through your fingers because you think you don't deserve happiness."

Suddenly, Samantha pulled down her dress to reveal her bra-covered chest and Miguel's eyes widened and he spun to face the other way in respect.

"But what you don't realise…" Sam continued. "Is that you need a little saving too. A little help please." She asked. Miguel's eyes widened.

"Oh, um… yeah, okay." He asked. He helped her change out of her dress and into her pajamas, which proved quite difficult as he had kept his eyes firmly shut. Sam didn't seem to care though. She had just undressed right in front of him.

"There you go again!" Sam exclaimed. "Saving me from that evil dress!"

"Get in bed!" Miguel laughed.

"Did you sneak a peak? At my goods?" Sam asked as Miguel led her over to her bed.

"Ha. I wouldn't be much of a hero if I did." He replied.

"Yeah, but it's okay if you peeked a little." She said, still clearly drunk. "You deserve a peek for all the good stuff you do."

Miguel helped tuck her into her bed and he knelt down beside her bed to face her.

"Drink lots of water." He told her.

"Thank you for tonight." Sam said. "I sang!"

"You did." Miguel chuckled. "And anytime."

He started to walk away but he heard Sam call him back.

"Hey, Miguel?" She called in an extremely small voice. Miguel turned back to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked.

"Sure. Yeah." He replied, sitting at the foot of her bed for several minutes before he heard her snoring. He then slowly tiptoed out of the room. He walked out of the Larusso house moments later and outside, he took out the number that Linda had given him. Glancing at it for a moment, he ripped it up. He wasn't about to go on a date with another girl. He couldn't for one simple reason: he still had feelings for Sam!


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, the 6 rebels met at Coyote Creek that afternoon, ready for the final test of Johnny's training. They were going to do a similar drill to what they did in Cobra Kai the previous year.

"Gentlemen. Ladies. Larusso. Welcome to Coyote Creek." Johnny announced, glaring down at his students. Daniel rolled his eyes at the subtle dig. "What's going to happen is that Larusso and I are going to draft you into two teams: Red and Blue. The goal, as Mr. Diaz and Ms. Robinson already know, is to capture as many headbands as possible from the other side. Today, the people around you are not your friends. They are not your brothers. They are the enemy. Because we have way less people as last time, you each get three headbands: three lives. After one of your lives is taken, your captor has to give you thirty seconds to regroup before he or she can come after you again."

"How do we capture the headbands?" Sam asked.

"By any means possible." Johnny replied. Daniel sighed.

"Use your judgement. This is just a training exercise." He explained.

"Correct." Johnny muttered. "But these headbands, they are your life. You lose them, you die. Oh, and fair warning: Larusso and I have a lot of money riding on this so both of us really want to win. Now, let's draft teams."

"Because Johnny has done this drill before, I get first pick." Daniel stated. "And with the first pick of the draft, I choose… Miguel."

"What?!" Johnny yelped, quietly. This was not going to plan! Johnny had assumed Miguel and Aisha would be on his team, and Sam and Demitri would be on Daniel's. Daniel smirked. He had chosen Miguel for that very reason.

"What's the matter, Johnny? Did I throw a wrench in your plans?" Daniel asked, gleefully. Johnny shook his head.

"No, um… I, uh, just assumed that you'd pick your daughter or Ms. Robinson or Mouth because you have such a strong connection with them." Johnny stammered.

"Guess you thought wrong." Daniel grinned.

"Yeah, and could you please stop calling me Mouth?" Demitri asked, frustratedly. "My name is Demitri!"

"Yeah, whatever Mouth." Johnny grumbled. Demitri sighed and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, with my first pick, I am taking Ms. Robinson."

Aisha smiled and joined Sensei Lawrence's team.

"Okay, I'll take Sam, which leaves you with…"

"Mouth." Johnny grunted through gritted teeth. "Great."

"Okay, so the teams are Sam, Miguel and I against Johnny, Aisha and Demitri." Daniel announced. "Johnny and I will stay here, and we'll have walkie talkies to communicate with you guys. It is a large forest so we need the walkie talkies to be able to talk. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes!" They all replied. The four students then all took off towards the woods. Although Sam and Miguel were technically teammates and Aisha and Demitri were also teammates, because of the limited numbers, they couldn't really double team on each other so their team was really more of an alliance. Both Sam and Miguel had Daniel in their ear, and Aisha and Demitri had Johnny communicating with them. Let the battle begin. Le jeu commence…

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Little did they know that on the other side of the forest, two black jeeps pulled up and parked. Stepping out the car was none other than John Kreese and 6 of his most fearsome Cobra Kai recruits: Hawk, Tory, Mitch, Kye, Brucks and Yasmine.

"Are you sure they're here?" Kreese asked Tory. Tory nodded.

"One hundred percent. I tracked Miguel's phone here. Idiot forgot to take me off of his Find my Friends on his phone. And if Miguel's here…"

"The others won't be far behind." Kreese finished, nodding his head. "Okay, the 4 kids are presumably spread out all around this forest. Mitch, Brucks, Yasmine, Kye, the four of you hunt Aisha and Demitri. Hawk and Tory, you two hunt the other two. And remember…"

"Wound not kill. We know." Hawk snarled.

"Yeah. We still want that fight with them in June and it won't happen if you fucking kill them." Kreese snapped.

"Wait, what about Johnny and Daniel?" Tory asked. "If the kids are here, so are they."

"Don't worry about them. I've got this." Kreese replied. "Now hunt, Cobras, hunt!"

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At that point in the rebels' game, Sam and Miguel had 2 lives left each and Aisha and Demitri had one each. Daniel was getting increasingly confident and Johnny was getting increasingly annoyed.

"I'm going to win this!" Daniel exclaimed. Johnny glared at him.

"Only because you took my star pupil." Johnny snapped back. Daniel sighed.

"Look, Johnny, when are you going to start thinking about these kids as our pupils, not as ex-Miyagi-Dos, and Ex-Cobras? You, me, Miguel, Sam, Aisha and Demitri, we all play for the same team now, you know? We all have one common enemy!"

Suddenly, Johnny's phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and looked at it. He raised an eyebrow.

"Speak of the devil. It's Kreese." He murmured.

"Well… answer it!" Daniel said. Johnny nodded and answered the phone.

"Hello?" Johnny grumbled.

"Greetings." Kreese's calculated voice echoed through the phone as both Johnny and Daniel squeezed into the frame of the video call.

"I don't suppose you're calling to call off the fight because you're too pussy to face us." Johnny snapped. Kreese chuckled.

"Ever the hothead, aren't you Mr. Lawrence?" He responded. "And no. I am not calling to back Cobra Kai out."

"We never asked for this, you know?" Johnny stated. "We never asked to be in this war. We just wanted to save these kids. And keep them alive."

"Please, forfeit the fight and we can end the misery that is karate in the valley. You will never have to see us ever again." Daniel pleaded. Kreese chuckled.

"Mr. Larusso. You couldn't have run from this anymore than you could have run from karate." Kreese stated.

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Meanwhile, in the forest, Aisha and Demitri were tiptoeing around. The forest was suddenly eerily quiet. No birds singing. Both of their hair stood up on its end. Then, out of nowhere, 4 people lunged at the two of them. They could barely react before 4 Cobras started kicking the crap out of them while they were on the ground. They were unable to do anything. Unable to defend themselves, let alone attack back. Demitri looked into the faces of Kye and Brucks and see his old tormentors, and Aisha looked at Yasmine, her old bully. Once Aisha and Demitri were both down and only semi-conscious, Kye texted a message to Kreese.

**Demitri & Aisha down. Looking for other 2 now with Hawk & Tory.**

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Kreese saw the message immediately and he smirked, still on the phone with Johnny and Daniel.

"Please. You've won." Daniel said. "You've already beaten me. Beaten us. Don't blame the children for the mistakes of our past. Take me instead."

Kreese scoffed.

"We're long past the opportunity for noble sacrifice." Kreese stated.

"Then tell us what to do." Johnny stated. "I've always kept my promises, haven't I?"

"You say you didn't want a war, Mr. Lawrence? And that's just what's happened. I told you what a fragile thing peace was. And still, like a child, you took pleasure in breaking it." Kreese stated. Johnny turned to Daniel. Something seemed off. Kreese was smirking at them as if he knew something they didn't. As if he had already won.

"Larusso, something doesn't feel right." Johnny whispered. Daniel nodded, echoing his thoughts.

"I know. What do we do?"

"I don't know. Let's keep listening I guess." Johnny replied.

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Miguel was alone in the forest. Him and Sam had split their alliance given that they both had multiple lives left, and he too had an eerie feeling about his situation. Coyote Creek used to be a lush area, filled with the tweets and cheers from birds, however it was utterly silent now, as if some black cloud had hovered over it. Then, Miguel heard it… a cry of pain. It was extremely far away, but still audible. He could tell from the emotion in the voice that it was undeniably Demitri, and it was clearly not inflicted by one of them as neither him nor Sam would inflict that much pain on Demitri. He sprinted towards the direction of the sound, silently plodding through the leaves. Eventually, he came to a clearing that was also dead silent, however the snap of a leave up ahead caused him to charge through the trees and tackle a standing figure. Miguel instinctively brought down a leg to pin the person beneath him, and he got a look at who it was. He immediately relaxed. It was just Sam.

"Jeez, Sam. You scared the crap out of me!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I heard something." Sam replied. "Someone shouting."

Miguel nodded.

"I heard it too." He replied. "Well, if that wasn't you, either Demitri and Aisha betrayed each other, or…"

"Something else is in this forest." Sam murmured. Miguel nodded and was instantly guarded.

"Stick together, okay?" He stated. Sam nodded and the two of them slowly tiptoed through the forest again…

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"I know what you are, Mr. Lawrence." Kreese continued. "I know you can't see past your narrow concerns. But please, I doubt you know what honesty is anymore. I want you to remember that. Do you really think I don't know that you and your students are scattered around Coyote Creek right now, single pawns for my Cobras and I to overrun?"

With that, Kreese ended the call and Johnny and Daniel's hearts dropped. Kreese knew they were there, which meant all of the Cobras were in the forest, hunting for their four students.

"Miguel, come in!" Daniel shouted desperately into his walkie talkie. "Sam, come in!"

No answer from either.

"Miguel!" Daniel yelled again, ever louder.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

" _Miguel!"_

Miguel's walkie talkie blasted out Daniel's anxiety as it lay on the ground. Miguel and Sam knew they had far bigger problems than whatever Daniel had to say. Standing three feet away from them were their arch nemeses: Hawk and Tory.

"Hey guys." Miguel said, trying to keep the mood cheerful. "Any way we can go home and forget all about this? I don't want to fight you guys."

"I'm going to kill you, you backstabbing little pussy." Hawk growled at him. Miguel sighed.

"Apparently not." He remarked in reply. He then got into a fighting stance. "Okay, let's do this…"

Then, Tory and Hawk lunged, but to their surprise, Sam and Miguel were more than ready. Johnny's agility training gave them the ability to use climbing trees to their advantage. His speed training enabled them to outmaneuver the Cobras at every turn. His strength training helped them land heavy blows on their enemies. Although Miguel hadn't yet learnt the craft of the Miyagi-Do defense, his attack more than made up for it. He was dominating Hawk in their fight, and Sam was dominating Tory in hers. Soon, Sam had actually managed to render Tory semi-conscious with a vicious uppercut to the jaw, so she turned to watch Miguel and Hawk's battle. They had both climbed to the top of the cliff leading down to a ravine, and they fought at the very edge, Miguel's back to the edge so he couldn't see the massive drop behind him. Sam suddenly had an extremely woozy deja vue moment as she saw Miguel near the very edge. Then, a vicious side kick from Hawk sent him tumbling over the edge…

"MIGUEL!" She screamed. For a brief moment, silence. Little did she realise that hanging onto the underside of the cliff like spiderman was Miguel. He slowly but surely climbed back up and sent a fearsome blow to the back of an unexpecting Hawk's head, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Fool me once…" Miguel spat as he stood over Hawk's body. Sam let out a massive sigh of relief as Miguel walked over to her. Their smiles though quickly fell as Hawk and Tory slowly stumbled to their feet. Miguel and Sam's eyes widened.

"Jesus Christ, these guys are durable!" Miguel exclaimed in horror as Tory and Hawk regained their bearings in a zombie-like fashion.

"What do we do?" Sam stammered.

"RUNN!"


	14. Chapter 14

"RUNN!" Miguel shouted, grabbing Sam's hand and sprinting into the woods with her, in the general direction of their base, Hawk and Tory hot on their heels. The two Cobras sprinted as fast as they possibly could but thankfully, Miguel and Sam managed to pull away from them given all of their speed training, and given that Hawk and Tory were seriously hurt.

Meanwhile, Aisha and Demitri had finally regained consciousness and had made it back to base, where Johnny and Daniel sprinted over to them.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Daniel asked, concerned. Aisha nodded.

"Fine." She grunted in reply. "4 Cobras took us by surprise. Jumped us."

"Where are Miguel and Sam?" Johnny asked. "Were they with you two?"

Aisha shook her head.

"They weren't, but I think I know who they're with." Aisha replied. "I saw all four who beat us up. Kreese deliberately picked the four people who would mentally faze us the most. Our bullies. Our enemies. With that logic, the two people after Miguel and Sam would be…"

"Hawk and Tory." Johnny muttered, putting his head in his hands. "Oh, God."

"Relax, Johnny. They'll be fine. You trained them well." Daniel said, unusually comfortingly, to his childhood rival. "Now, Demitri, do you think you could track Miguel or Sam?"

"Yeah, on it." Demitri said, taking out his phone and trying to gather a signal. They were in the middle of the forest so the signal wasn't great but he was trying his best. Suddenly, Johnny's phone rang and his eyes widened when he saw it was Miguel. He answered it.

"Miguel?!" Johnny shouted.

"Hey, Sensei!" Miguel whispered into his phone.

"Miguel, where are you guys?" Johnny asked, somewhat frantically.

"We're still in the forest. We just lost Tory and Hawk but I doubt they'll be gone for long." Miguel whispered. "Look, you, Daniel, Demitri and Aisha need to get far away from the creek. NOW!"

"What? Are you kidding?! We're not going to leave you here!" Johnny shouted. Miguel cringed at the loud voice coming out of the phone. If Tory and Hawk didn't know where they were then, they definitely did now, so Miguel and Sam didn't have much time.

"Look, Sensei, you've gotta trust me." Miguel stated.

"Miguel, we're not going to leave you here!" Johnny said again. Miguel sighed.

"Look, Sensei, I've put my wholehearted trust in you so many times. All I ask is that this once, you have the same trust in me." Miguel stated. Johnny groaned and nodded.

"Okay. Fine. Call if you need anything." Johnny said. Miguel nodded and hung up. He then turned to Sam.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Sam asked. Miguel raised a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. He had just heard the snap of a twig up ahead, informing him of Hawk and Tory. Sure enough, moments later, a voice cut through the silence.

"Oh, Miguueeeeellll!" Hawk drawled in a sing-song voice. "Where aaaaaare you? I'm gonna kiiiilll you!"

Miguel pointed in the general direction of where his car was parked, indicating to Sam that they should run that way. She nodded and after a three second silent countdown with his fingers, the two of them bolted out of their hiding spot behind a tree and they took off down the path.

"There they are!" They heard Tory shout behind them. Sam and Miguel willed themselves to run faster and they eventually made it to Miguel's truck and they dove inside. Miguel turned on the gas and the two of them sped away from the forest. However, their troubles were far from over. Around 5 minutes after they had started driving, they heard the unmistakable sound of a car engine roaring towards them from behind. Sam, who was sitting in the passenger seat, spun around to see the source of the noise and her eyes widened.

"They're right behind us!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel looked in his wing mirror and saw Hawk and Tory in Hawk's car, right behind them. "What are we going to do?" Sam shouted. Miguel grinned.

"Just drive faster, I guess." He replied, before flooring the accelerator…

Miguel drove like an absolute lunatic. He knew the car like it was an extension of his body, so he was able to take turns at the very last possible moment. Sam clung onto the grab handle for dear life.

"MIGUEL, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US!" Sam screamed. Miguel shook his head.

"Don't worry! I got this!" Miguel shouted, before turning the car so sharply that he nearly flipped the car. "We need some music!" He shouted. Sam looked at him, confused.

"What?" She exclaimed. Miguel grinned.

"This is a freakin' car chase! We need some hype music!" He said, gesturing to the radio. Sam rolled her eyes and turned it on. The song playing on the radio was Unstoppable by The Score. Miguel listened to the music and took in the lyrics as he kept driving.

**To hear the following song, click:**

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PBlykN4KIY>

**Or search: 'Unstoppable the Score'**

_There's a moment_

_In your bones when_

_When the fire takes over_

_Blood is running_

_Heart is pumping_

_As the battle gets closer_

_Ooh, they can say what they want now_

_Ooh, cause we'll be screaming out_

_We can be heroes everywhere we go_

_We can have all that we ever want_

_Swinging like Ali, knocking out bodies_

_Standing on top like a champion_

_Keep your silver, give me that gold_

_You'll remember when I say_

_We can be heroes everywhere we go_

_Keeping us down is impossible_

_Cause we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

However, despite Miguel's amazing but reckless driving, his car was still a colossal pickup truck so it wasn't the fastest. Tory and Hawk were slowly gaining on them, and there was nothing Miguel could do.

"Miguel, they're coming closer!" Sam exclaimed. "Make your slow-ass truck go faster!"

"She doesn't go any faster!" Miguel shouted. Sam looked at him, confused.

"She?" She asked. Miguel shrugged and grinned.

"I ride her every day. It's definitely a she." He joked. Sam sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Look, I'm not having this conversation right now. Tory and Hawk are literally right behind us!"

Miguel looked up ahead and grinned.

"Not for long…" He replied, veering the car left, off the road and continuing driving in a grassy, dirty terrain.

_Every spotlight_

_Every sound byte_

_Everybody who gave up_

_Is just the fuel for_

_Wanting it more_

_Than anybody against us_

_Ooh, they can say what they want now_

_Ooh, cause we'll be screaming out_

As the chorus of the song began and began to raise the song to its climax, Miguel pulled back on the road. They had finally lost Hawk and Tory and the two of them breathed sighs of relief.

"Oh thank God!" Sam exclaimed. "That was…"

"Awwwwweeesommmmmeee!" Miguel exclaimed. Sam looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Awesome? That was terrifying!" Sam snapped. "We could have died!"

"But we didn't." Miguel replied.

"You could've flipped the car!" Sam remarked.

"But I didn't." Miguel shrugged. "We won, didn't we?"

Sam looked out the window and her eyes widened.

"I wouldn't be so sure." She replied, pointing behind her. Miguel looked in his wing mirror and swore. Sure enough, it was Hawk and Tory, speeding towards them. Miguel swore.

"How are they here?!" Miguel exclaimed.

"They don't give up. You've gotta give them that." Sam stated as Miguel fired up the engine of his truck.

_We can be heroes everywhere we go_

_We can have all that we ever want_

_Swinging like Ali, knocking out bodies_

_Standing on top like a champion_

_Keep your silver, give me that gold_

_You'll remember when I say_

_We can be heroes everywhere we go_

_Keeping us down is impossible_

_Cause we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

Miguel started driving again as the song began its instrumental solo and was building towards the climax of the song, but he could tell his truck was pushing its limits. It wouldn't hold up for much longer. They needed a new plan. Miguel suddenly had an absolutely awful idea. Awful, but it might just work. He turned to Sam.

"Hey. I have an idea." Miguel said as he dragged his car around another turn. They were extremely thankful that they were on a quiet road at the border of the city and there were not many people and cars around them.

"What is it?" Sam asked. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Um… you're going to have to drive." Miguel said. Sam's eyes widened.

"Why?! You're clearly the better driver!" Sam exclaimed. Miguel shrugged.

"Just trust me, okay?" He said. Sam looked at the determined expression on his face and nodded. The two of them awkwardly switched places in the car, causing their pace to massively drop and causing Tory and Hawk to gain on them by a lot, but eventually, Sam was behind the wheel and Miguel was in the passenger seat.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Sam asked. "I can't hold them off!"

"Don't." Miguel shook his head. "Drive right alongside them."

"What?!" Sam shouted. Miguel looked at her.

"You heard me. Drive alongside them, only for a moment. Just trust me."

Sam nodded and she slowed down even more, causing Tory and Hawk to become right beside them. Miguel eyed the wicked expression on their faces and he saw Hawk pull out a firearm. Miguel's eyes widened.

"Gun!" He shouted, shoving Sam's head down as the gunshot went off. As the two cars drove parallel to each other, Sam then bumped into the side of Hawk's car, HARD, causing him to drop the weapon out of his car window. Miguel then opened his side window. "Can you please me closer?!" He shouted as he slowly climbed out the window, clinging to the side of the car.

"What the hell are you doing?! That's not smart!" Sam shouted. Miguel ignored her and he climbed onto the top of the sunroof. Just before he completely left the truck, Sam noticed him clip something to his belt. Just then, Miguel shouted to Sam a single word.

"BRAKE!" He shouted. Sam obliged and at that moment, Miguel jumped…

_Ooh, they can say what they want now_

_Ooh, cause we'll be screaming out_

Like an agile cat, Miguel landed on the sunroof of Hawk and Tory's vehicle, and he didn't waste any time. Unclipping his Swiss Army Knife from his belt, he unsheathed the blade and he stabbed it into Hawk's rear left tyre, causing the car to spin out of control and throwing Miguel off the roof. Miguel fell through the air for a moment before landing on the open back trunk of his pickup truck, just like he planned.

_We can be heroes everywhere we go_

_We can have all that we ever want_

_Swinging like Ali, knocking out bodies_

_Standing on top like a champion_

_Keep your silver, give me that gold_

_You'll remember when I say_

_We can be heroes everywhere we go_

_Keeping us down is impossible_

_We're unstoppable_

"Drive!" Miguel shouted. Sam obliged and Miguel carefully climbed back through his side window into the passenger seat, grinning at a bewildered Sam. He settled in his lethal passenger seat and listened to the outro of the song as Sam drove them away…

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

_Oh woah, we're unstoppable_

_We're unstoppable_

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"Hold on! Hold on! Let me get this straight…" Johnny said, later that night. After Miguel and Sam had managed to escape, they drove straight to the Larusso house where Daniel, Johnny, Aisha and Demitri were waiting for them and recovering from the assault. "Miguel, you dodged a gunshot, climbed out of your truck window, leapt onto the roof of Hawk's car, slashed his tyre, jumped back into your own, all without a scratch on you?"

Miguel laughed and shrugged. At the time, it seemed like the right thing to do but thinking back on it, it did seem pretty ridiculous. Johnny whistled when Miguel nodded.

"Damn. That is badass!" Johnny remarked. Miguel blushed

"Yeah, it was pretty cool." Sam admitted. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Surprised you even saw anything, Sam, given that you seemed like you were about to pass out at any moment." Miguel stated. Sam laughed.

"What can I say? My mind's not used to seeing my best friend flying through the air having leapt off the sunroof of his truck!"

"You know, I want to focus on the bit right before that moment." Daniel said.

"What, you mean when Miguel broke every single traffic and speed law known to man?" Sam asked. Miguel rolled his eyes and hit Sam gently on the shoulder. Daniel shook his head.

"No, I mean before that." Daniel laughed. "You and Miguel managed to take the fight to Tory and Hawk and more than that, you guys won! And then afterwards, you used your speed to make it to Miguel's car, and Miguel, you used agility and strength to do that car stunt. You guys took all of Johnny's unorthodox teachings and you actually used them to win. Johnny and I were talking earlier today and we think you guys have mastered the Cobra Kai half of training. As of next Monday, we start the Miyagi-Do part of training!"

"Wait… Mr. Larusso. Christmas break starts on Monday." Miguel pointed out. "Don't we get a break?"

"Nope." Daniel replied. "We're taking a field trip for training during the 3 weeks of Christmas. It's pretty far away so we need to leave early on Monday."

"How far away?" Aisha asked. Daniel grinned.

"Okinawa, Japan…"


	15. Chapter 15

Two days later and the 6 rebels were stepping out of their taxi and into the Tokyo town square. Miguel's mouth dropped as he admired the gorgeous surroundings. He had only ever been in the States and Ecuador before so it was all very new to him.

"Toto, I got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!" Demtiri remarked as they walked down the town square in the general direction of their hotel.

"Woah, this is amazing! Half these things don't even exist in the States!" Miguel exclaimed.

"Hey, come here! Come here!" Demitri called to Miguel, his camera aloft. Miguel grinned and joined his friend, the two of them stopping to take a selfie in front of Shibuya Crossing. The rest of the group turned around and Johnny sighed.

"Diaz! Mouth!" He snapped.

"What?" Miguel asked.

"This is not a sightseeing tour!" He snapped.

"Speak for yourself! We want our grandkids to know we did cool stuff!" Demitri responded, snapping another picture. The 10 minute walk to their hotel took around 20 minutes, with the four teenagers stopping to take photos every minute. However, they eventually made it and checked into their three rooms. Demitri and Miguel were in one room; Sam and Aisha were in another; and Johnny and Daniel were in the third one. After unpacking their stuff, the 6 met up in the lobby in the evening to discuss the game plan for the next day. Daniel could tell the kids were itching to explore the city so he gave them the whole off to explore and tour the sites.

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The next afternoon, the group had all split up. Johnny and Daniel had gone God knows where, Demitri and Aisha had gone for lunch, and Miguel and Sam were still exploring the absolutely gorgeous city. They had just taken the subway and stepped out onto a road which, when Sam saw it, her face lit up.

"This place is so cool." Miguel remarked as they stepped out of the platform. "Where are we?"

"Come on! We're in Harajuku. This place is famous!" Sam exclaimed. "This is Takeshita Street. It's on my must-see list!"

"I think everyone's got the same list. It's just the top 10 places on Trip Advisor." Miguel replied as they walked down the street.

"They've got the coolest stores here!" Sam explained. She then pointed to a shop. "Look! They've even got a cat cafe!"

Miguel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Cats just go in there and have lunch?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"No, dumbass! You go and hang out with cats if you don't have one at home!" Sam responded. Miguel snorted in laughter.

"What?! That is literally the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

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Meanwhile, across the city, Daniel walked through the eerily familiar cemetery, his feet crunching on the amber autumn leaves, and he stopped at a familiar marble headstone. The words Nariyoshi Miyagi were carved across the marble top. Laying down his mini bonsai tree, Daniel sat down next to his old mentor and talked to him…

"Hey Mr. Miyagi." Daniel said to the grave. "I know it's been a few years but better late than never, right? I've been thinking about you a lot lately. I, um… it's funny, when I was a kid, you seemed to always have all the answers and I guess I thought that when I got older, I'd have it all figured out too. But now, I just… I feel like I'm clueless. It makes me wonder was it different for you or were you just better at hiding it? I feel like lately, I've been letting my anger towards Cobra Kai take control. You know me, I've always been a bit of a hothead. I really wish you could be here right now, helping me and Johnny with teaching these kids. They're really depending on us and I don't know if I'm doing enough to help them, or even if I am pushing them too much. The hate that our kids have for the Cobras… it's SO much hate. More than they should bear. What do I do, Mr. Miyagi? Please, help me! Please!"

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"You've gotta admit! That was fun!" Sam exclaimed. An hour later, Miguel and her had finished walking through all of the unique shops on the street, their arms full of the souvenirs and mementos that they had bought for themselves and their friends. Miguel smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it was." He replied. "I must say, you make a fun travel buddy, even if you do drag me to some insanely lame places along the way."

"What lame places?!" Sam cried, indignantly.

"The cat cafe." Miguel replied, chuckling. The cafe was quite possibly the dumbest place he had ever entered.

"That was fun! We had fun!" Sam exclaimed as they stepped off their hotel's subway stop and they walked through the station.

"Speak for yourself." Miguel grumbled, and then as he looked across the station, his eyes lit up when he spotted something on the far end. "Ooh, a piano!" He exclaimed, running over. Sam giggled and followed him.

"What, so you all of a sudden know how to play the piano?" Sam asked, incredulously. Miguel grinned at her and shrugged.

"What can I say, Ms. Larusso? I am a man of many talents." He remarked. Sam laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Shut up." She murmured. Miguel laughed. He then sat at the piano and started playing a soft melody and he sang along with it…

**To hear the following song, click:**

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73_DOquGBD4>

**Or search, "All of Me John Legend"**

_What would I do without your smart mouth?_

_Drawing me in, and you kicking me out_

_You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down_

_What's going on in that beautiful mind_

_I'm on your magical mystery ride_

_And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright_

_My head's under water_

_But I'm breathing fine_

_You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

As Miguel finished singing the first verse and chorus of the song, the crowds began to form. Countless teenage girls gathered around to listen to the golden throated foreign kid sing. As Sam felt herself pushed around by the gathering eager crowd, a pang of jealousy flashed through her.

"Why are you jealous? You and Miguel aren't dating!" She told herself. Although that was technically true, Sam had always assumed - and definitely hoped - that with all the time they were spending together, the two of them would indeed get back together. Both of them had grown up so much since they were last together, and she felt that if they were to get together now, there was actually a chance that they would last a long time.

_How many times do I have to tell you_

_Even when you're crying you're beautiful too_

_The world is beating you down, I'm around through every mood_

_You're my downfall, you're my muse_

_My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues_

_I can't stop singing, it's ringing, in my head for you_

_My head's under water_

_But I'm breathing fine_

_You're crazy and I'm out of my mind_

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

_Give me all of you_

_Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts_

_Risking it all, though it's hard_

_'Cause all of me_

_Loves all of you_

_Love your curves and all your edges_

_All your perfect imperfections_

_Give your all to me_

_I'll give my all to you_

_You're my end and my beginning_

_Even when I lose I'm winning_

_'Cause I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you_

_I give you all of me_

_And you give me all of you, oh oh_

As Miguel masterfully faded out the song and stood up from the piano, the crowd of tens of women cheered and screamed in approval. As soon as Miguel started to walk away, the girls swarmed him and Sam and Miguel felt themselves shoved further away from each other. All of the Japanese girls were trying to give him slips of paper with their numbers on them, and they were all screaming his way. Miguel tried to walk away but he couldn't. After that incredible ballad, he honestly thought that he was eventually going to get trampled by the girls. He eventually did the only thing he thought of to get out.

"Sorry! Sorry! I, um… I already have a girlfriend. I have a girlfriend." Miguel stammered, grabbing Sam's hand and shooting her a look saying 'Go With It.' Sam blushed and she took his hand, much to the disapproval of all of the girls. This successfully dispersed the girls and the two were able to get out of the subway station pretty easily after that. Once they were safely away, they dropped the act and let go of each other's hands, both of them rather hesitant. Having their hands intertwined just felt so… right. 10 minutes later, after a lot of lingering, not-so-subtle glances at each other, they made it back to the hotel, where Johnny, Daniel, Aisha and Demitri were waiting.

"About time!" Daniel exclaimed when the two walked into Johnny and Daniel's room, where the rest of the group were hanging out. "Where the hell were you guys?!"

"Sorry, we got a bit held up at the subway platform." Miguel replied. "What's up?"

"We're just about to discuss what we're doing tomorrow." Daniel explained. "We're going to go into the forest and we're going to do some meditation and balance training in the morning…"

Miguel quietly snorted in laughter, trying to hide it, but Johnny noticed.

"I'm sorry, is something funny, Miguel?" He asked. Miguel shrugged.

"I don't know. I just don't know how meditation is going to help us in a fight." Miguel remarked.

"Trust me, Miguel. It might not make sense now, but it will make sense in the end." Daniel said. Miguel scoffed.

"Whatever." Miguel replied, unconvinced. "I'm going out to the balcony for a bit. Get some fresh air."

With that, he stood up and walked away, still slightly pissed. The rest of the group was confused. Miguel had always been the most keen and eager member of the group about training, and it was like a dark cloud had suddenly been cast over his head.

"I'll go talk to him." Johnny said, standing up and walking out to join his student. When he walked out onto the terrace, Miguel turned to him and nodded. The two of them looked out into the gorgeous Japanese sunset and Johnny looked at Miguel.

"Hey. What was that about?" Johnny asked. Miguel sighed.

"We're not going to win this fight." Miguel stated. Johnny raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that's encouraging." Johnny remarked, sarcastically. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a bummer. I'm just being realistic. We're going into a 25 vs. 4 fight, against people who probably are going to have weapons, and whose tactics we are completely in the dark about. I would not bet on those odds, and I'm sure you wouldn't either."

Johnny slowly nodded. He knew that Daniel and the others' hearts were in the right place, but only him and Miguel were pessimistic and realistic enough to know that their cause was hopeless.

"Okay. I see your point. So what do you suggest?" He asked. Miguel shook his head.

"I don't know. I really don't. I mean one option would be to practise fighting with and against weapons, even out the playing field a bit. You know, knives, daggers, nunchucks, staffs, the lot."

"Yeah, somehow I don't think Larusso would approve of his precious daughter fighting with knives." Johnny chuckled. Miguel shrugged and nodded.

"True." Miguel remarked.

"You got anything else?" Johnny asked. Miguel shook his head.

"I know we need to change something, Sensei. But as to what, I have no idea…"

**So, I'm at a crossroads in the story. I need to decide on an endgame couple for the fic. I just binge-rewatched the series over the past week, and I must say, I don't like Samantha very much anymore. She is extremely manipulative and does not admit to her mistakes. She tries to get Miguel to quit Cobra Kai just so she doesn't have to introduce her boyfriend to a boy who is friends with her dad's high school rival, she is constantly acting like she is better than everyone else, she accuses Tory of stealing her mom's wallet when she only knew Tory for a few minutes. However, if y'all want a Miguel/Sam fic, I will oblige. I have three options…**

**1- Have a Miguel/Sam endgame like originally planned.**

**2- Have a Miguel/Tory endgame. I have thought of the perfect way to finally link them together. It will involve a very big character arc for Tory, including a lot of self-reflection and a gradual change. It doesn't mean her and Sam are about to be best friends. It just means that Tory and Miguel will eventually be together. It won't happen immediately either. It would be a long road but eventually would happen.**

**3- Have a Miguel/Original Character endgame. Last night, I thought of an excellent way of linking Miguel's backstory to the fic, and I could easily weave in a figure from his past who surfaces in California. I could add a lot of history between them and it would be pretty cool.**

**So those are the options. PM me or review with your answer. And look, please keep reading. I know the story is very dry right now but trust me, it gets A LOT better. I have a lot planned for the next little while so please keep reading. I just need to set the scene first and then I can truly dive into the story**


	16. Chapter 16

"Okay guys! Listen up!" Daniel exclaimed. The group had met up in the forest early the next day and were about to start balance training. Daniel stood at the front of the group, and Miguel, Sam, Demitri, Aisha and Johnny all faced him. "So, we're going to start our Miyagi-Do style training today. Okay, what I first want you guys to do is close your eyes and listen."

The five of them obliged, Johnny and Miguel rather reluctantly. As they closed their eyes, Johnny turned to Miguel and whispered in his ear.

"This is stupid." Johnny remarked, quietly. "No wonder you beat Robby in the All-Valley."

Daniel glared at Johnny as although the former Cobra Kai Instructor was whispering to his mentee, it was so quiet in the forest that everyone heard him.

"Other than Johnny, what do you guys hear?" Daniel snapped.

"Um… Nothing. This is dumb." Miguel stated, much louder than Johnny. "How is this going to help us in a fight?"

"Miguel, like I said last night, just trust me." Daniel said. Miguel shook his head.

"Why should I?" Miguel snapped. "Your meditation and balance isn't going to do shit when 25 Cobras are charging at us, probably with weapons!"

"He's got a point." Aisha added. "Sure your methods might have worked when you were a kid, Mr. Larusso, but the stakes are much higher now. We're not fighting in a controlled setting. We're fighting in an all-out street fight!"

"Look, we don't need weapons to win a fight!" Daniel exclaimed. "Let's do my training first, then we can have this discussion, okay?"

The ex-Cobras sighed and nodded. Daniel sighed in relief.

"Good, so, as Miguel rightly explained, out here, you can hear nothing. No phone calls, no internet, no family arguments. Just us and mother nature. That's why we're hear. This is what Miyagi Do karate is all about."

Then, Daniel walked over to a clearing, where a fallen tree was lying flat on the ground. Sam and Demitri, as ex-Miyagi Dos, knew what Daniel was about to make them do, but the others had no idea.

"Look, all of you know the moves of karate, I'll give you guys that, but none of that matters unless you have balance."

"I balance on my bicycle every day." Miguel interrupted, rolling his eyes.

"I don't mean balancing your body: I mean balancing your life. Look, I know all of us have our own problems, and I know all of our happiness has taken a whack because of what the Cobras are doing nowadays. But when those bad feelings all weigh you down, you've gotta search inside for the good stuff, because then you can find some balance in your life. You guys understand? It's not easy, but you'll do it. Now, Demitri, Miguel, climb on this tree."

"Both of us?" Demitri asked, raising an eyebrow. As an ex-Miyagi Do, he had often been told to get on a fallen tree and do punches or kicks, but never had he been told to stand on the tree with someone else.

"Oh, you thought you were doing the kicking and punching drill?" Daniel laughed. "No! You guys don't need that! You guys are all experts! You need something more! You guys are going to fight each other while up on the log!"

Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Can we hit each other as hard as we want?" Miguel asked. Daniel chuckled. He already knew what was about to happen.

"Yeah sure, Miguel. Go for it." He said. Miguel nodded and him and Demitri faced each other. They both got into fighting positions and almost immediately, Miguel lunged at Demitri, attempting to send a vicious heel kick at Demitri's jaw but losing his footing and falling off the log, landing flat on his back in a heap on the ground. He swore and stood up.

"You okay there, Miguel?" Demitri laughed. Miguel growled and nodded.

"Fine." He grunted in reply. He jumped back on the log, glared and Demitri and the two prepared to fight another round. This time, Miguel didn't screw up. He kept perfect balance and sent Demitri flying off the fallen tree. Miguel smirked.

For the rest of the afternoon, the four of them sparred with each other, testing their balance to the extreme levels by first of all starting on a log, and then gradually, they managed to begin sparring on an extremely narrow tight rope. As the daughter of the Miyagi-Do instructor and the best student in Miyagi-Do, Sam was the best, but Miguel was definitely a close second.

They did similar drills to these for the entirety of their stay in Japan, as well as exploring the country of course. They were working harder than they had ever worked in their lives: they were juggling all of their school work and college applications/preparation on top of their training, so needless to say that every night when they went to bed, they were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Nonetheless, with all of the work came a hell of a lot of good too. They could feel themselves getting both physically and academically stronger by the day. Demitri, Sam and Aisha had learned what life was like outside the sheltered lives they used to life. And Miguel… well, for the first time ever, Miguel had forgotten about his trauma-ridden early childhood and was having a lot of fun ( **More on this throughout the story HINT HINT** ) **.** In addition, Miguel had received even more steller news. Due to his superb grades and SAT scores, Miguel had been offered a full scholarship to Stanford to study Forensic Science - a welcome surprise that he actually received on Christmas day, which the 6 of them spent together in Japan.

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However, eventually, their time in Japan came to a close and they prepared to leave. As Miguel packed his bag and looked around at his and Demitri's hotel room, he pondered his life. Three years ago, when him and his mom first moved to Los Angeles, he had never in a million years believed that he would be where he was today: training Karate in Japan, a full scholarship to Stanford ahead of him, a group of incredible friends around him, and best of all, a man who he considered to be a father to him! After what Miguel went through, having a father figure to look up to was beyond Miguel's wildest dreams.

The group met up with Daniel at the lobby of the hotel and when they made it down there, Daniel was grinning like an idiot.

"What are you so happy about, Mr. Larusso?" Aisha asked.

"Yeah, you look like you just found out that you were finally voted the second most boring man in America rather than the most boring after 5 years of ranking dead last." Johnny remarked. Daniel glared at him and rolled his eyes.

"Johnny… shut up." Daniel replied. "Look, you guys, I just want to say that I am so proud of all of you. You have truly given this training your heart and soul, and you have not only grown as Martial Artists, but you've grown so much as people are all so amazing, and you're all headed for the stars. So, as a little treat, I pulled a few strings with our neighbor Armand, and I managed to get us an upgrade for our flight home."

"What, did your friend hook us up with Business Class tickets?" Johnny asked.

"Better." Daniel grinned.

"First Class?" Demitri asked, dumbfounded.

"Better!" Daniel exclaimed. "We are heading home on Armand's private jet!"

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"Yoooooooo! This plane is luuuuuxxxx!" Miguel exclaimed as they stepped on the plane. He was right. The plane was the most luxurious, comfortable vehicle he had ever set foot in. The plush, leather, reclining seats had a built-in speaker system in the headrests. Rather than one small screen on each seat like a passenger plane, there was a 80 inch flatscreen TV at the front of the plane and the guys decided to watch a John Wick marathon. With all of their knowledge about Martial Arts, they loved to poke holes and spot inaccuracies in the movies. After they had finished all three John Wick movies, they all split up around the jet. It was just the six of them and the pilot on the aircraft so they could be as loud as they wanted to be. Sam and Miguel sat at the front of the plane, chatting loudly and taking countless selfies of them in the jet. As Johnny and Daniel watched the two teenagers in front of them interact, Johnny turned to Daniel.

"You know they're probably going to start dating, right?" Johnny remarked. Daniel nodded.

"Yeah… yeah, I know." Daniel replied. "And good for them. Miguel's a great kid. Maybe you're not hopeless after all, Johnny. You're actually a… decent father."

"I'm not his father." Johnny replied. Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? You put a roof over his head, clothes on his back, food on the table. You're the one he comes to for advice, for guidance, for help. Sounds like a father to me."

Johnny chuckled and him and Daniel clinked their ice cold beers together.

"You know, your opinion on us ex-Cobra Kai students has changed so much in the past two years. I mean, back then, you were hell-bent that we were the enemy." Johnny stated.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I do still hate Cobra Kai! I hate Kreese. Tory. Hawk. But hanging onto a grudge that I had with you from when we were kids, and then judging Miguel because of his connection to you… that was a mistake."

"Wow. Look who's learning!" Johnny clapped his hands sarcastically. Daniel rolled his eyes. With around half an hour left of the flight, the plane suddenly made a sudden dip downwards and alarms started ringing throughout the plane, causing the plane's oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling. Johnny and Daniel looked at each other, confused, and the kids had terrified looks on their faces. The plane was descending, FAST, and it seemed to be going down with absolutely no control to it. Johnny and Daniel stood up - with great difficulty due to the plummeting plane - and the teenagers quickly joined them. Grabbing onto the planes side banisters for support, they shuffled towards the cockpit. When Daniel pulled the curtain to the cockpit aside, all of their hearts dropped…

The pilot was lying in his seat, completely unconscious!

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"What is going on?!" Demitri shouted. Johnny and Daniel grabbed the pilot and they lifted him off the seat and onto the plane floor. The six of them were all panicking like crazy. There was a good chance they were about to die. Their plane was going down and the pilot was too unconscious to stop it. Sam grasped Miguel's hand like a vice, and he shot her a reassuring look, although they were all freaking out. Finally, Johnny was the first of them to get over the shock paralysis they were all in, and he slid into the pilot seat.

"It's all right, guys. Just relax. I've got this." Johnny said.

"Of course you got this! You were in the Air Force! You can land this thing in your sleep, with both hands tied behind your back and your eyes closed, ain't that right Johnny?" Daniel said, trying to pump the teenagers with reassurance. However, despite Johnny's best efforts, he couldn't stop the descent of the plane.

"I think the autopilot is locked. I don't know how to unlock it!" Johnny exclaimed. "These are much different to my F18s back in Kandahar!"

Suddenly, the air traffic marshal's voice rang through the plane.

"Flight 228. Pull up! I repeat, pull up! Over!" The air marshal said. Miguel's eyes widened when he heard the voice and he quickly turned on the microphone to communicate with the traffic control marshals.

"Hey! Houston, we've got a problem!" Miguel shouted into the microphone. The five others glared at him and Miguel shrugged, unabashed. "What? That line is literally perfect for our situation!"

"Little insensitive, huh, bud?" Johnny remarked, pointing at the terrified others. Miguel and Johnny were the only ones not panicking and keeping their calm - Demitri, Sam, Aisha and Daniel were absolutely terrified.

"Hey, if I'm gonna die, I die with no regrets." Miguel stated.

"We're not gonna die." Johnny snapped, shooting Miguel a glare to shut up, before turning to the microphone. "Hey, traffic marshal, our pilot is unconscious and our plane's going down! What do we do?"

The traffic control marshals replied moments later.

"Can you try to revive the pilot?" The marshal asked. Miguel walked over to him and felt for a pulse. He was greeted by a cold nothing.

"He's dead." Miguel said, sending the others into a massive frenzy of panic. Johnny, however, kept his cool and relayed this to the traffic control.

"Are you sure?" They asked back. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, what's the plan?" He asked. The traffic control marshals responded quickly after with the most chilling sentence Miguel had ever heard in his life.

"I'm really sorry. There's nothing we can do. Your current flight path trajectory leads you to landing in the Pacific so you won't be crashing into urban areas. The best you can do now is hope for the best, say final prayers, and brace for impact."

With that, the traffic control marshall clicked off and the cockpit rendered silent…

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"Bitch." Miguel muttered at the air traffic marshal, who obviously couldn't hear him.

"What's the plan?!" Daniel shouted. "We can't just sit here and wait to die! Johnny, you got anything?"

Johnny shook his head and put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening. Him and the 5 people he loved most in the world were about to crash land in the Pacific, all but certainly dying. Miguel stood up and walked out of the cockpit, grasping onto the handles of the plane as he walked. The plane's nose was nearly pointed directly at the ground at this point. He knew that there was one more option that was possible. However, he needed to search for something in the plane and it needed to be there for it to work. He found what he was looking for a while later. He sprinted back into the cockpit, hurling what looked like three backpacks into the cockpit with him.

"Parachutes." Miguel stated. That simple word had given them something that they had spent the past three months trying to gain and then lost 5 minutes prior: hope. There was a chance - a miniscule chance mind you - that they could come out of this terrifying encounter alive. "Okay, here's how it's going to work. These parachutes are tandem chutes. There are harnesses attached that clip together two people. Daniel, you and Demitri can jump out first. Johnny, you and Aisha can jump out next. Me and Sam will bring up the rear. When we reach the ground, we won't have phones so we'll rendezvous at the Larusso house."

"Sam and I." Demitri corrected under his breath. Miguel turned to him with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Seriously?! We're going to die and you're correcting my grammar?!" He exclaimed. "Anyways, does everyone understand the plan?"

Everyone shakily nodded. They were all terrified, but this new plan had slightly rejuvenated them.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Daniel shouted. "The pilot! We can't leave him here!"

"He's dead, Daniel." Johnny stated. Daniel shook his head.

"We don't know that!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Yes, we do." Miguel said, holding out the limp man's left wrist and pointing at the smartwatch on his wrist. "All Apple Watches have Heart Rate monitors on them and this guy's heart rate dropped to zero five minutes ago."

"Maybe the watch is broken!" Daniel snapped. Miguel growled and slapped the watch on his own wrist. It immediately lit up and displayed a heart rate on it.

"Don't think so!" Miguel shouted. "He's dead, Daniel, and if we want to come out of this alive, WE NEED TO HURRY!"

Daniel reluctantly nodded. Johnny and Miguel, who were the only two people really functioning, helped Demitri and Daniel into their parachute harness and Miguel stumbled out of the cockpit with them and they approached the door.

"Everyone, grab onto something!" Miguel shouted, before opening the aircraft door and causing the air pressure to suck them towards the exit. "Look, Daniel, according to the dashboard in the cockpit, our altitude is 7000 feet right now so just jump out of the plane and pull the chord immediately. Okay?"

"Got it." Daniel replied. With that, Demitri connected to Daniel and jumped out of the plane and disappeared into the sky. Johnny quickly strapped into his tandem chute with Aisha and the two of them were out within a minute. Soon, it was just Miguel and Sam left in the plane. The two of them looked at each other with a mixture of fear and determination on their faces as Miguel grabbed the final parachute. When he looked at it closely, his heart dropped.

"What? What is it?" Sam asked, concerned, as she saw his facial expression turn to horror. Miguel looked at her.

"Um… Sam. This chute isn't a tandem chute, it's a single chute. Only one of us can make it out of this plane…"

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"No, no, no, no, no! I can't go out like this!" Sam cried, her head in her hands. She started crying at this point, her shock transforming to pure devastation and seeing her so petrified broke Miguel's heart more than even the thought of dying.

"Sorry, Sam, looks like this is the end of the line for you." Miguel said. Moments later, he laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'm just kidding! Help me find something to tether us together!" he shouted, grabbing at curtains. Sam shook her head.

"Together! That chute won't hold both of us!" She shouted. "Hey, Miguel, listen to me! Listen!" She demanded. Miguel temporarily stopped looking for a tether and looked at her. She cupped his face in her hands and took a deep breath. "Look, Miguel, chances are we're going to die today, so there's something I need to tell you. I… I love you, Miguel. I've loved you for the past three years. I loved you then, I love you know, and I'm always going to love you, even in the afterlife."

"I love you too." Miguel whispered back. "Okay, Sam, we're running out of time! Put this on and go!" He shouted, shoving the back at her.

"I'm not leaving you! You take it!" Sam shouted. Miguel glared at her.

"What are you talking about! Just put it on and go!" He yelled. Sam shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't want it!" She shouted, trying to give the parachute back to Miguel.

"I'm not going to take it! I'm not going to take it!" He exclaimed, shaking his head and putting his hands behind his back to prevent Sam from giving it to him. However, unfortunately, this led to the parachute flying out the window. The two of them looked at each other in horror. Miguel zipped up his jacket. "Okay, new plan. So now, we're going to jump out and I'm going to try to catch the parachute in midair and then come catch you!"

"Miguel, neither of us can skydive!" Sam shouted. Miguel chuckled.

"Sam, that's the least of my worries." He remarked, shoving her head-first out of the open plane door and jumping after her…

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As the two of them freefell, Miguel's first thought was, 'this is fun.' Having the wind gracing his cheeks and the world beneath him was such a freeing experience. He then remembered the mission and he spotted the parachute falling away faster and faster. Miguel had read a lot about skydiving so using all of his prior knowledge, he made his body streamlined and he dived towards the chute below. He could feel himself getting closer and closer until he finally managed to reach out and grab it. He quickly slung the backpack parachute over his shoulder and clicked in the strap. Step 1 achieved successfully. Next step would be much harder though. Sam was pretty far beneath him and he needed to catch her before they were too low. He soared towards her and a couple of moments later, he grabbed her and pulled her towards him. She clung onto him for dear life and she wrapped her arms and legs around him.

"Pull the chord, Miguel! Pull the damn chord!" She shouted. Miguel nodded and tugged the small chord at the back of his parachute jacket and they were quickly yanked upwards by the unfurling of the massive parachute. The roaring of the wind that they were previously hearing quickly diminished to a whisper as they gently made their way towards the ground.

"Don't let go." Sam whispered, trembling against him. There was nothing stopping her from falling to her death other than their arms and legs locking around each other. Miguel gently kissed her forehead as the two were pretty much face-to-face. He whispered back at her.

"Never again…"

The two of them soon made it to near the ground and they realised something: because they had no idea how to skydive, they also had no idea how to land. Miguel tried to steer the chute the best they could but they ended up crash landing through the roof of a motel and landing straight onto the bed on the floor underneath. They groaned, uninjured but dazed from the fall. In addition, they coughed from all of the debris they created from falling through the roof, but they were relieved that they literally landed on a mattress rather than anything else. As they lay there, still recovering from the shock of everything that had just happened, Sam turned to Miguel and smirked.

"Well, I figured you'd end up in bed with me." She joked. Miguel chuckled and the two of them slowly rolled to their feet.

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As luck would have it, there was another miracle that day. All three pairs actually landed in the greater Los Angeles area. After unclipping their parachutes, Sam and Miguel managed to take a taxi to Sam's house, where Daniel, Johnny, Demitri and Aisha were waiting, nervously. Because of Sam and Miguel's long delay on the plan and them landing slightly further away, the the four had made it much sooner than Miguel and Sam. Johnny and Daniel were even more terrified now than they were on the plane: they had survived but for all they knew, the kids they loved most in the world hadn't. All Johnny and Daniel could do was sit on the front porch and pray, until they saw a yellow taxi pulling up into their driveway, and a dishevelled looking Sam and Miguel stepping out. Their faces lit up and they ran towards their children, hugging them excruciatingly tightly.

"Holy Crap! You scared us there for a moment, Diaz!" Johnny exclaimed. Miguel shrugged.

"You know me, Johnny. I always need that dramatic entrance." Miguel stated. Johnny chuckled.

"Damn straight." He replied. Then, Daniel walked over to Miguel and pulled him into a crushing hug.

"Thank you, Miguel. I know that none of us would be alive right now if it wasn't for you." Daniel said. Miguel shrugged.

"All in a day's work, Mr. Larusso. All in a day's work…"


	17. Chapter 17

The next day, Miguel woke up with a massive lopsided grin on his face. The day before, they had escaped death by the skin of their teeth, and what's more, him and Sam were finally back together. It had been an extremely long, winding road, but they were finally back where they belonged: together again.

Miguel parked outside the Miyagi-Do dojo that afternoon after school (it was the first day of the new term in school), and when he left the car, he walked into dojo, and into the backyard. He was early that day so the only other person there was Sam. She was sitting in the corner of the back garden, meditating, and he walked over. She hadn't seen him yet, so he wrapped an arm around her.

"Hey beautiful." He whispered in her ear. She immediately relaxed when she realised it was her boyfriend, and she turned around and smiled at him.

"Hey you." She said, brushing his lips with her own.

"How was the rest of your weekend?" Miguel asked. Sam groaned.

"Really bad, actually. My mom obviously found out about the karate training and she absolutely flipped out on my dad. I think their marriage is one blow away from them calling it quits." Sam murmured.

"Wow, um… babe, I'm really sorry. It'll be okay. I know it will." Miguel reassured her. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know that though? How do you know that they won't just keep fighting and drift so far apart that they can't pull themselves back together again?" Sam asked. Miguel shrugged.

"I know, corny as it sounds, that love will find a way." Miguel replied, simply.

"But my dad betrayed my mom's trust. It would make sense for my mom to want to leave." Sam stated. Miguel shook his head.

"But love doesn't make sense." He commented. "You can't logic your way into or out of it. Love is totally nonsensical. But we have to keep doing it, or else we're all just lost and love is dead and humanity should just pack it in. Because love is the best thing we do."

"Thanks, Miguel." Sam smiled, kissing him. "I've missed you. So much."

"Well, I am a pretty missable person." Miguel joked, laughing and taking her hand and walking into the dojo with her.

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That night, Miguel was in for an amazing surprise. He drove home after training to see a note on the kitchen table.

_Hey Miguel. Go to Radisson. Rm. 118. Bring ur mom and grandmother's Christmas gift_

Miguel raised an eyebrow. What was going on? No way his mom was in the States - they couldn't afford that - so what in the world could it be? Miguel had no idea, however he did indeed get back in his truck and he drove to the Radisson, his gift to his mom in the breast pocket of his jacket. He entered the hotel and his mouth dropped… his mom and grandmother were sitting in the room, grinning at him.

"Mom! Yaya!" He exclaimed, rushing over to hug them. "What are you guys doing here?!"

"I know we're a little late but do you really think we'd let you celebrate Christmas without us?" Carmen smiled as she hugged her son. She already noticed a massive difference in her son in the brief few seconds she had seen him in. His arm and chest muscles were much more pronounced in his tight black shirt, but more importantly, there was a spark in Miguel's eyes. A spark she hadn't seen in nearly two years. Ever since Miguel's All-Valley win at the end of Freshman year and the rivalry between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai began, she could tell that Miguel wasn't enjoying karate as much. It was like he was doing it for all of the wrong reasons (getting stronger and tougher to eventually beat Robby in a fight as he was dating Sam) and he knew it. But now, it seemed like her son was happier than ever. Happier than she could have ever imagined him to be, given what he had been through since age 10.

"Wow… um, it's great to see you guys. I can't believe it." He stammered.

"Yeah, well, we have celebrated 17 Christmases together, it would be a shame to end tat streak now." Carmen said. "So, how's everything, Miguel? School? Karate?"

Miguel smiled.

"Really good, actually. Really good. Like I told you guys a while ago, I got a full scholarship to Stanford so I'm set for next year. Karate's going great too."

"Really? Great?" Carmen asked, raising an eyebrow. "So you consider jumping out of a plane to be great?"

Miguel's face dropped. The plane incident had just finished being resolved a week ago and he really thought that they would get away with it without his mom finding out. They had kept their names out of the press for the very reason of not attracting too much attention and Miguel had genuinely thought they had gotten away with it.

"Um… Mom… Listen…" Miguel stammered. "It's not what it looks like… I had no choice… my friends were in danger… I had to… I…"

"Miguel, calm down!" Carmen laughed. "I don't blame you. From what I've heard from Johnny and others, it seems that you did the right thing. Dare I say heroic."

Miguel blushed.

"It was really not as bad as it sounds." He stated.

"Are you sure?" His grandmother chuckled. "Because it sounds like you and your friends went on a jet with no co-pilot, found your pilot having a stroke, you found parachutes at the back of the plane, your friends then jumped out of the plane with the chutes, you and your girlfriend accidentally threw the chute out of the plane door, the two of you jumped out of the plane without chutes, you caught the chute in mid air and then caught your girlfriend with no skydiving experience whatsoever, and then landed relatively safely in L.A without a scratch on you."

"Okay, it's exactly as it sounds." Miguel laughed.

"So, should we do our present exchange now?" Carmen asked. "It's two weeks past Christmas but you know, better late than never, right?"

"Hell yeah." Miguel laughed. The three of them sat around the table and Miguel took out two parcels from his jacket pocket. He first turned to his grandmother and handed her the slightly larger of the two presents, speaking to her in Spanish. "Yaya, this is for you. I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. You were the one who convinced my mom to let me do karate, you were the one who covered for me with my mom when I was sent to the principal for fighting, you were the one who convinced mom to let me stay here with Johnny for senior year. I wouldn't be where I am today without you and this is just a small token of my thanks. Merry Christmas, yaya."

He kissed his grandmother on the cheek and gave her the wrapped gift. She smiled at him and unwrapped it to see a framed photo of him, his mom and his grandmother standing outside their old place on the first day they moved to Reseda. It represented a time in their lives, right after they escaped Ecuador, when they were full of relief and happiness.

"Thank you, Miguel. You have grown up into an amazing man." His grandmother replied. "Thank God you don't take after your father."

She muttered the last sentence and they all shuddered at the thought of the man who had plagued their lives for so long.

"Anyways…" Miguel said, pulling everyone's thoughts away from that vile man. "Mom, here's my gift to you." He said, pulling out a smaller box from his jacket. "I don't even know what to say to you, mom. You've just been… you've just been the best mom in the world. Back in Ecuador, I was at my weakest and I couldn't fight back, you were there to get us out of the country. You saved my life and you sacrificed so much to give me a future and I'm never going to be able to repay you for that."

His mom kissed him on the forehead and opened her gift. She gasped. It was a gorgeous, dainty gold charm with a small charm dangling on the end: a gold circle with the letter C (for Carmen).

"Oh, my God! Oh, it's beautiful!" She exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas." Miguel smiled.

"Thank you. It's so pretty!" She said, putting it around her neck. "Okay, your turn!" She said, handing him a small rectangular black box. Miguel raised an eyebrow and shook it.

"Now, how did you get a fire truck inside of here?" He joked.

"Stop!" She laughed.

"A train set?" He joked.

"No. Open it!" She exclaimed.

"Hmm. Grenade launcher?" Miguel joked again.

"No. Better." She said. Miguel nodded and started to unwrap it.

"Okay. I don't know what's better than a grenade launcher though." He remarked. He finally unwrapped the gift and opened the box. When he saw what was inside, he almost dropped it in shock. Staring back at him was a positive pregnancy test. "Is this… Does this mean that…" He stammered.

"Mm-hmm. I'm five months pregnant, Miguel. You're gonna be a big brother!" She exclaimed. Miguel finally got over his shock and he gave his mom a crushing hug. He couldn't believe it! His mom was having a baby! His whole life, he had felt slightly lonely without a sibling, but in 4 months time, he was going to finally be a big brother to a baby!

"Wait… five months… that means that in four months, it will arrive?"

"Yeah, if all goes well, _she_ will be with us in just under four months." Carmen smiled. Miguel's eyes widened.

"She? It's a girl?" Miguel stammered. Carmen nodded. Miguel had happy tears in his eyes at this point. This was hands down the best moment of his entire life. He knew in that moment that he would do anything to make the world a better place for his baby sister and he would go to any means necessary to make that happen. ANY MEANS POSSIBLE.

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"Awwww, this is adorable!" Miguel exclaimed to his mom the next day as he picked up a baby onesie that was in the design of a karate gi. Because Carmen and his grandmother were going back to Ecuador that night, Miguel insisted that they go to the mall and let him buy a bunch of baby things for his baby sister. Although Carmen would be having the baby in Ecuador so she was bringing all of his baby gifts back with her, eventually, Miguel hoped to earn enough money to be able to pay for his mom and sister to live in the States again.

"Miguel, this is too much! You don't have to buy all this stuff!" Carmen laughed as he put the baby stuff in the rapidly piling up shopping trolley.

"No!" Miguel exclaimed. "It's bad enough I'm not going to be there to help with the baby. The least I can do is buy some of this stuff. Ooh, a baby pillow!" He said, tossing it in the cart.

Soon, that night, Carmen's stay had come to an end but unfortunately, Miguel couldn't come with them to the airport as he was extremely behind on schoolwork and had a whole science project due that night. Johnny was driving the two to the airport instead and Miguel stood outside the house, hugging his mom goodbye.

"Bye mom! I swear I'll come back to Ecuador for the whole summer and help with the baby!" Miguel promised.

"I love you, mijo." Carmen smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Remember, be good to Johnny!" She reminded him. Miguel chuckled.

"You got it." Miguel laughed. He then waved as Johnny, Carmen and his grandmother drove away and he walked back into the house and began working on his project.

As Johnny drove them to the airport, Carmen turned to him.

"So, how's Miguel been?" She asked. "He isn't too much trouble, is he?"

Johnny chuckled.

"Are you kidding? Having Miguel living with me… it's made me finally feel like a father. It's been the most rewarding 4 months of my life. Especially with Robby in Arizona, it's given my life a purpose."

"Well, I can't thank you enough, Johnny." Carmen said. "When we lived in Ecuador, for the last year or two, Miguel was going through a really tough time, and then when we moved here, he didn't have a father figure. You've been more of a father to him than his biological dad ever was."

"Well, he's naturally a great kid. A testament to how he was raised." Johnny said, nodding at Carmen. She smiled at the compliment and forced a nod. Johnny had no idea about the vile, toxic environment in which Miguel was raised. She took a deep breath. She knew that despite Miguel begging her not to tell anyone, Johnny deserved to know.

"Yeah, um, not quite. See, Johnny, there's something you need to know about Miguel's past. About his dad…"

Carmen never got to finish her sentence. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a garbage truck came flying towards them and bulldozed through the car, sending them rolling down a hill, the car shattering into shards of metal and glass…

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Miguel's project was about forensic science - his favourite subject - so he got lost in the science and hours passed without him noticing. He didn't even notice that Johnny hadn't come home. Suddenly, his train of thought was broken by his phone ringing. He jumped in surprise at the sudden noise and he looked at the clock. His eyes widened. It was 9:30 at night! He had been working non-stop for 4 hours and he hadn't even noticed. Time flies when you're having fun, he thought, as he picked up the phone. It was a random number.

"Hello! This is Miguel. How can I help you?" He answered the phone cheerfully. However, the voice who responded had the exact opposite to Miguel's jovial tone.

"Miguel? Miguel Diaz? Son of Carmen Diaz? Grandson of Marisol Diaz? Legal Guardian Johnny Lawrence?" The person asked.

"Yeah, who's asking?" Miguel asked, slightly worriedly. Who was this person and how did they know all of this?

"This is St. Margaret's Hospital. There's been an accident." The voice said, gravely. "Mr. Lawrence is unconscious in the hospital but otherwise unharmed."

"And my mom? My grandmother? My mom's baby?" Miguel stammered, absolutely petrified at this point. The hospital receptionist took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Diaz. Your grandmother and mother unfortunately didn't make it, and neither did her unborn child…"


	18. Chapter 18

Miguel's phone slipped out of his hands moments later and his legs gave out, causing him to collapse onto the ground. His mind and body was numb. He started hyperventilating. This could NOT be happening. There was no way he was losing his mom, his grandmother and possibly Johnny too. After all of the loss, pain and suffering he had already faced in his life, this had to be a mistake. There was no way God sent this at him as well. Eventually, Miguel managed to regain his wits and he sped to the hospital, breaking just about every traffic law known to man. Tears were yet to escape his eyes. It was shock that was currently freezing his emotions. When he made it into the hospital, he was quickly directed to the hospital morgue by one of the nurses. When he entered the room, what he noticed first was the extreme cleanliness. Despite the fact that he was in a room full of corpses, he started to choke on the strong disinfectant smell. He walked over to the corner, where two bodies were covered by white sheets. He pulled the sheets down a little to reveal the faces of the people, confirming what he already knew. Carmen and his yaya's pale faces were staring lifelessly back at him.

At this point, a nurse walked over to him and gave him a hug, but Miguel was barely functioning enough to hear her. His senses had shut off completely and the only thing he could do was look at the corpses of the two people he loved most in the world. He vaguely recalled the nurse taking his hand and slipping something small in it.

"It was on her when she died." The nurse explained as she handed it to him. Miguel slowly looked down and saw that it was the necklace that he had given his mother 24 hours earlier. That was when he finally broke down.

"WAKE UP, MOM! WAKE UP YAYA! GOD DAMN IT! PLEASE! PLEASE WAKE UP!" Miguel bellowed, begging his deceased family members to get up, but to no avail. They merely stared lifelessly back at him. Tears streamed relentlessly down his face and he curled into a ball in the corner of the room and sobbed his eyes out. His heart was screaming in pain but his brain was still numb. It was an inexplicable feeling. Miguel didn't even notice the various nurses walking over to him, attempting to comfort him. He stayed in that ball, his head in his hands, crying hysterically for hours upon hours. He had lost three lives that day: his mom, his grandmother and his sister. He felt like he was about to pass out several times during that evening.

After what seemed like a millennium, the door to the morgue swung open and a man limped inside. Miguel looked up for long enough to see that it was Johnny. His eye was completely black, his left arm was in a cast and sling and he was badly limping but otherwise, he seemed unharmed. At that moment, for the first time in 5 hours, Miguel felt a different emotion to shock and devastation: fury. The man walking towards him was the reason his mom, grandmother and sister were dead. It was him who was driving the car when it was hit. If it wasn't for him, his family would still be alive. Miguel slowly stood up and walked over to him.

"Get out." Miguel growled, quietly, at him.

"Miguel, I…" Johnny stammered, trying to find the words but he was immediately cut off by Miguel.

"GET OUT, NOW!" Miguel yelled. Johnny didn't move though. He kept coming closer, trying to explain that the crash was purely because of a garbage lorry running a stop sign.

"Miguel, you've got to understand… I…" Johnny started again but he didn't get further than that. At that moment, Miguel punched him across the face and then grabbed Johnny by his bandaged shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. His shoulder had been severely dislocated, as well as gashed by large shards of glass from the windshield, so he was in a lot of pain when Miguel grabbed him.

"Leave. Now." Miguel spat, quietly. Johnny, with tears in his eyes, finally retreated out of the room. After taking one final long look at his family members, Miguel kissed his mom and grandmother on the forehead for the last time and he pulled the white sheets back over their heads, and then he finally left the room.

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The next night, Miguel still hadn't come home. He didn't think he could look at Johnny without wanting to kill him. Instead, he stayed in a small motel room until he found another place to live. He couldn't stay with Johnny anymore. He just couldn't.

Speaking of Johnny, the man was not doing so well either. Although him walking away from the car wreck without any permanent physical damage was somewhat of a miracle, he didn't feel like much of a miracle. He might not have been the car to run the stop sign, but if he had spotted the advancing truck earlier, he could have swerved out of the way and prevented them from being hit and rolling down the hill. Carmen, Miguel's grandmother and Carmen's unborn child were all dead and it was all his fault. Johnny decided to go to a bar to drown his sorrows in alcohol. He was chugging a sixth Coors of the hour when he noticed someone slip into the seat next to him at the bar. Johnny looked up to see Daniel sitting there.

"Hey." Daniel said, cautiously. The car crash was around 30 hours ago so he had obviously heard about it at that point and he didn't know how Johnny was going to react.

"Hi." Johnny grunted. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Tracked your phone." Daniel replied. "I must say, I'm surprised you're here."

"Why is that?" Johnny snapped. "Where'd you expect I would be?"

"I don't know. Maybe with Miguel?" Daniel asked. Johnny scoffed.

"You know, when I walked into the hospital yesterday and he saw me, there was a look in his eye that I've never seen in his eyes before. Not when he was looking at Hawk. Not even when he was looking at Robby. He… he looked like he wanted me to have died in that accident."

Daniel chuckled.

"Yeah, so? I get that kind of look at least five times a day from both of my kids. Big deal." Daniel stated. Johnny shook his head.

"No, look, I'm serious. This wasn't like a typical look. This was real, unadulterated rage. He doesn't want me anywhere near him. The least I can do is give him his space."

Daniel looked at him and sighed.

"Look, Johnny, can I give you some advice, from one father to another?" He asked. Johnny nodded and sipped the beer.

"Please." Johnny muttered.

"When your child pushes you away, that's when you need to be right there behind him because that's exactly when he needs you the most."

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A week later, the day of the funeral arrived and as well as Miguel and the Larussos, Miguel's old friends from Cobra Kai had called a one day ceasefire so they could come and pay their respects. After all, people like his ex-girlfriend, Tory, and his former best friend, Hawk, knew Carmen and his grandmother quite well. Also, a lot of Carmen's old friends and work colleagues would be coming. She was such an amazing person and Miguel knew that there wouldn't be an empty seat in the whole chapel.

A week later, everyone filed into the beautiful chapel. Pictures of Carmen and Miguel's grandmother were scattered around the room, and in quite a few of them, Miguel was present as well. The morning of the funeral, Miguel woke up early. Although for the past week, his nights had mainly consisted of blacking out from booze, he hadn't drank any alcohol the night before as he needed to be at his strongest emotionally if he wanted to be able to get through the day. He showered and put on his formal black suit.

"Hey, you ready?" Sam asked, knocking gently on his door. She was wearing a black dress, and Miguel knew that although it would be undoubtedly difficult for him, it was also about to be really hard for her too as she had met Carmen and his family dozens of times. The Larussos had even offered to hire a funeral service company, so at least they didn't have to worry about planning the funeral themselves. The wake was set to be at a local pub - they had struck a deal with the pub to allow them to have the wake there, despite the fact that many of them were under 21. The procession was set to be at midday, and Miguel, Sam and Daniel were taken in a hearse to the church - Miguel did NOT want Johnny at the funeral. Miguel, his yaya and Carmen didn't have any family in the States, which is why it was Sam and Daniel who accompanied him. When they arrived at the church, the sealed casket was carried to the front of the room and everyone took a seat. Miguel wasn't really listening as the priest gave his eulogy. He knew that he would have to give a speech next, and he was eventually called up by the priest.

"And next will be Mrs. Diaz's son, Mr. Miguel Diaz, to give a few words."

There was a quiet applause as Miguel walked up to the podium. He had a pre-prepared speech in his breast pocket, and he took it out. His eyes quickly skimmed the hand-written page, and he sighed.

"Look, I can't do this." He said, ripping up the sheet of paper. "I can't give some lame-ass, heartless, pre-written speech. It would be an insult to my mom. She deserves a proper goodbye - a goodbye from the heart…"

Everyone's eyes filled with tears as Miguel began to say a final eulogy for his mother. Miguel could recognise the whole Cobra Kai and ex-Miyagi-Do in the audience. He took a deep breath and began speaking.

"My mom was a wonderful person. She was the kindest, most loving and most giving person I've ever known. She didn't have a bad bone in her body, and she was always so full of life. When I was too weak to defend myself, she pulled me out of the depths of hell and she used bravery I didn't know was even possible to get me, her and my grandma out of Ecuador. She deserves only the highest place in heaven. I'm going to miss her so much, and it means the world to me that so many people showed up today. I'm sure that she's looking down at us right now and she's touched at how many people made it out today. Goodbye mom. I love you."

Miguel's speech was dripping with emotion, and it stabbed a hole in the heart of everyone in the room. It was the most painful thing he had ever done. During the song, Miguel accepted the fact that Carmen was never coming back; she was gone forever. Then came burying his mother's casket, which brought on a whole new level of pain. He never thought he could hurt this much.

That night, Miguel finally went back home for the first time since his mom's death, but it was only for a brief while. All he did was grab a duffel bag from his room and throw a couple of sets of clothing in the bag. He then grabbed his wallet, which was now almost empty after his latest purchase: he would be formally moving out of Johnny's house that night, and would be moving into a trailer that he had bought and parked at a quiet cove on the coast of Long Beach. Just as Miguel was about to leave the house, he heard the door swing open and Johnny walk in. When Johnny saw him, he did a bit of a double take. He hadn't seen Miguel since that day in the hospital.

"Um… Miguel, can we talk?" Johnny asked, tentatively.

"What do we need to talk about?" Miguel snapped.

"Well, where are you going, first of all?" Johnny asked, pointing to the large duffel bag in Miguel's arms.

"My new place." Miguel replied.

"Y-your new place? You're moving out? Where to?" Johnny asked.

"None of your business." Miguel growled, shortly. Johnny sighed.

"Look, Miguel, we need to talk about what happened that day." Johnny stammered. "I wish I could do something to make it up to you. Something to make things a little easier. Please, just tell me what to do!" He begged. Miguel walked over to him and the two stood, face to face, with their faces mere inches apart.

"You killed my mother, Johnny. There's no way on Earth that you can make up for that. So if you want to do me a favor… just stay the hell out of my life." Miguel spat, before walking out of the house and into the night…


	19. Chapter 19

Over the course of the next month, Miguel went from living to merely surviving. He lived in his tiny, messy trailer on the beach, not leaving it for anything but absolute necessities: minimal amounts of food, and copious amounts of alcohol. Miguel was an alcohol now; there was no better way to put it. Alcohol was the only thing that could help numb the constant throbbing pain he felt since his mom, grandmother and sister were killed. His trailer was extremely barebones too: he didn't even have a mattress. He slept on the small sofa he had in the corner of the cabin. Miguel didn't let anyone at all - not even the Larussos - help him in his condition. He lived as a hermit - no one entering and no one leaving. He didn't even go to classes for that month, and as a result, losing his scholarship to Stanford. He didn't care though. He didn't want to live. He wanted to die, simple as that. Every day he woke up, he wanted out. But he couldn't do it himself. He couldn't commit suicide for one simple reason. Finally, after a month of solitude, having lost everything in his life, he decided to go back to school and karate, but with an extremely different mindset. Rather than enjoying himself now, he planned to use school and other activities as ways to pass the time and make the inevitable sweet release of death come closer.

Miguel woke up that morning and he immediately squinted as the sunlight streaming into his trailer clashed with his intense hangover. He spied a beer on the table opposite him and chugged it. There were no limits now. He was so far gone, there was no point stopping himself. He poured himself another shot and his phone suddenly lit up, revealing his wallpaper of him, Carmen and his grandmother. His chest seared in pain as he saw it and he picked up a handgun that he kept in his cabin. He put it on the table and spun it in circles. It eventually stopped spinning and pointed at him.

"Bang." He slurred, imagining that blissful gunshot that would finally end his sorry excuse of a life.

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"Come on, guys! Focus up!" Daniel shouted to Demitri, Sam and Aisha during their training that day. Ever since the funeral, not only had Miguel not come to training, but Johnny hadn't either. Neither of them were in okay mental states at all, so that left Daniel coaching the three remaining students. They all knew that they were about to get destroyed by the Cobras - a 25 vs. 4 would be hard enough, but only 3 and without their All-Valley champion or their offensive skills mentor would make it damn near impossible.

"What's the point, Mr. Larusso?" Demitri complained. "We're just going to have our asses handed to us. We're screwed 'cause Johnny quit and Miguel went… you know…. AWOL."

Everyone looked down and avoided each other's gazes. Miguel's indefinite leave of absence from the team had been a massive bone of contention between them. The three kids knew that winning the fight would be impossible without him, and although Daniel knew it deep down too, he forced them to continue to train just in case.

"Look, guys, we've gotta keep going!" Daniel exclaimed as the three students gathered in the Miyagi-Do garden for another useless training session. "We need to train to…"

"I'm here! I'm here! Sorry I'm late!" A voice interrupted Daniel. They all turned around to see an extremely dishevelled Miguel stumbling up the pathway towards them. Their eyes widened. They hadn't seen Miguel in a month and this Miguel looked absolutely nothing like the one they had known before. His hair was all messed up, his shirt and trousers had more creases in them than in half the clothes in L.A, and his face… his face made him look like he had been through absolute hell. He had a short, stubble, unshaven beard, a black eye from a drunk bar fight, and his eyes were extremely cloudy and red from his excessive alcohol consumption.

"M… Miguel?" Daniel stammered, his eyes wide. "You're here."

"Well… yeah." Miguel said, raising an eyebrow. "Problem? Let's get to work!" He said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Nobody else moved though. They were still in shock at seeing Miguel.

"Miguel, y… you're back?" Demitri stuttered. Miguel shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, well, new and improved. Think of me as Miguel 2.0!" He exclaimed, cheerfully. "Now, are we going to work or just stand around here doing nothing? I'm going to go in and grab some water real quick, but I'll be right back!"

With that, he walked into the Miyagi-Do dojo to grab a bottle of water, leaving the four others in the garden, looking at each other in confusion.

"Well, that was… something." Aisha remarked afterwards. "He actually seems okay."

"Yeah, he was smiling and joking around. Maybe time was really all he needed." Demitri commented. Sam and Daniel looked at each other and they both had the same thought. Miguel did NOT look okay. His eyes practically screamed alcoholic and his clothes and face echoed this.

"He's not okay, guys." Sam shook her head. "He's using humor as a defense mechanism because he's not doing well at all."

"Are you sure? Because he looks fine to me." Aisha said. Daniel also shook his head.

"No, Sam's right. He's not okay. Just, tread lightly around him for the next little while, okay? Give him some time to reintegrate. Don't set him off."

At that moment, Miguel walked back into the garden and training began…

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After a couple of hours of training that afternoon, Miguel got in his car and started to drive home. On his way, he noticed that an intersection on the way to the beach was blocked off and police cars were swarming around the area. Miguel quickly parked his car, took a swig of alcohol from his pocket flask and got out of the car to check out what was going on.

The commotion was coming from Los Angeles Bank. It was a bank robbery in progress, with the hostiles holding many civilian casualties. Miguel walked over to the outside of the bank and stood there, analysing the scene.

"Officer, what's up?" The Lead Detective on the case asked as he arrived at the scene at the same time as Miguel.

"Three armed suspects inside, about 20 hostages, and they beat up a security guard pretty bad." The officer explained.

"Anybody talk to them yet?" The detective, a man named Jake Peralta, asked.

"They shouted something about wanting a helicopter." The officer replied. Detective Peralta scoffed.

"Yeah, good luck with that. Let me get you…"

"You should probably move in now, while you've still got the element of surprise." Miguel interrupted, addressing Peralta. The detective looked at him and his dishevelled appearance and he knew instantly that the man was not a cop.

"Excuse me. Hey, could you get this guy out of here?" The detective snapped.

"Look, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job, all right? I'm just saying it's not exactly Ocean's Eleven in there. Sorry, where are my manners. I'm Mig…"

Miguel was cut off by the doors of the bank swinging open and the hostile briefly stepping out, holding a hostage as a human shield, and firing rounds at the sky to grab the cops' attention.

"Where's our chopper?!" The man shouted.

"Okay, we've got shots fired!" Peralta declared into his walkie talkie. "Set up mobile command around the block. Let's go!"

Meanwhile, Miguel spotted an opening and he walked towards it. He picked up three pizza boxes that were lying on the ground and, holding them, he walked straight towards the bank entrance. Detective Peralta's eyes widened when he saw him.

"Hey, we got a civilian walking towards the building!" the Detective shouted in alarm as Miguel walked straight into the bank.

"Oh my God." the cops all muttered as the commotion in the bank suddenly went dead quiet…

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When Miguel entered the bank, the three armed hostels weren't even facing him. They were rounding up the hostages and forcing them to lie on the ground. Miguel confidently whistled the 'La Cucharacha' theme and he saw the three bad guys' heads swivel around to face him. Miguel grinned at them.

"Hey, bad guys! I brought some gifts!" Miguel stated, cheerfully, as he held the boxes aloft.

"Who the hell is that?!" The hostiles shouted as they aimed their guns at him. Miguel was unfazed though. He continued chatting with them as though he was talking to friends.

"Look, I wasn't sure what everyone liked, so I brought an assortment. I've got, like, pepperoni, margarita…"

Suddenly, one of the hostiles lunged at him and kicked the boxes out of his hands, before shoving him onto his knees in an execution position.

"We don't want any damn pizza! We want a chopper!" One of them shouted. Miguel chuckled.

"Look, I'm relatively new to the area, but it seems like you picked a pretty busy intersection for that." He remarked, still maintaining the cheery tone. "I'm not sure where you'd set a chopper down."

"Is this funny to you?!" One of the other villains snapped. Miguel shrugged.

"Oh, no, not at all. I just… I think you guys are in over your heads. I mean, look, those cops out there, they're never gonna take you seriously. Unless…"

Miguel's voice trailed off.

"UNLESS WHAT?!" They shouted. Miguel looked them right in the eye when he responded.

"You off someone."

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Meanwhile, outside, the cops were going into a frenzy as they were listening to the conversation through microphones.

"Who is this lunatic?!" One of the officers shouted.

"Peralta's new friend. Teach him that?" One of the others replied, looking at Detective Peralta. Peralta raised his hands in surrender and shook his head furiously.

"Hey, I just met that man, okay? That kind of crazy takes years to develop!" Peralta exclaimed.

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"And it can't just be anyone." Miguel continued, looking straight into the cold, dead eyes of the robbers. "You know, they can't be old, or poor, or, and I hate saying this, but rich is better. You know, more publicity?"

"MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST OFF YOU!" One of the robbers shouted. Miguel smiled widely. Finally, they were getting to the point he wanted.

"Ooh, offing a child. Now, that would definitely get their attention. Although, I don't think you guys have the sack for that." Miguel goaded them.

"OH, YEAH?!" One of the robber spat, eating Miguel's bait. He pointed to his fellow robber and the other man pulled off his jacket, revealing a suicide vest. The hostages started shouting in alarm but Miguel stayed extremely calm. "Either we get out of here alive, or nobody does!"

Miguel took a deep breath.

"Look, I think I left some side salads outside. I'm gonna…" Miguel started, about to stand up to walk out of the bank but he was quickly shoved back down by the robbers.

"GET YOUR ASS DOWN!" They shouted, causing the hostages to panic even more. Miguel's grin finally faded from his face, replaced by a more serious look.

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Outside, one of the SWAT team operators walked over to Detective Peralta.

"Ready to make entry. We're waiting your command, sir." He said to the detective. Peralta nodded and rolled up his sleeves, grasping the handgun that was on his holster.

"Okay, we're gonna do this." Peralta said.

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"You ready for this? You sure? Then I'm gonna need you to do me a favour." Miguel asked the robbers, looking them right in the eye as they trained their guns on him. He grabbed the barrel of one of their guns but rather than trying to push it away from his head and fight them, he pulled it towards him so the barrel was practically touching his temple. "Don't miss." He commanded them in a slow, steady tone. "Because I'm not spending the rest of my life with some tube coming out of my mouth because you morons can't shoot. So let's do this together."

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"Get your team to the final cover position! Let's go! Ready..." The detective shouted. The SWAT team all quickly lined up in formation by the entrance of the bank, their guns aloft and preparing to charge into the bank and stop this madness.

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"One…" Miguel counted as the cool steel of the gun rested against his temple. It was eerie cold and Miguel relished the feeling. He was finally about to see his mom and grandmother again. He just needed the robbers not to miss.

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"Two…" The Detective continued counting for his men outside as they were one second from making entry.

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"Three." Miguel counted, but before he could feel the gunshot burying into his temple, he leapt to his feet, using his Cobra Kai training to nimbly headbut the robber who was in front of him and grab his gun, and then using his old hunting skills from when his dad taught him to fire three shots, into the chest of each robber. However, at that moment, disaster struck…

The third robber, the one wearing the suicide vest, used the last of his strength to click the remote detonator, causing a 30 second countdown to start. Now that all three hostiles were down and a bomb was about to detonate in 30 seconds, the hostages started sprinting out of the bank. Miguel, who was still holding the robber's assault rifle, nodded at them.

"All right! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" He called to them. Once they were all out and safe in the hands of the bemused SWAT and police officers, Miguel walked out of the bank, holding a slice of pizza from one of the boxes that he brought in with him. The Detective stormed over to him, his eyes blazing.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Detective Peralta shouted. Dusting his hands on his trousers to rid them of his pizza dough crumbs, he held out his right hand.

"Miguel Diaz. Nice to meet you." He said, just as the bank exploded behind him in a ball of flames…


	20. Chapter 20

"The man wants to die! Which is fine, his business, but if it was up to me, I'd lock him in a padded white room. But that's not my area of expertise. What is _my_ domain is sustaining the lives of the civilians of L.A!" Peralta shouted to his captain later that day as he explained the actions of the day before. Currently, Miguel probably wasn't looking at any charges for the three murders he committed as they were all in self-defense, and to protect the civilians in the bank.

"Ok, calm down." the Captain said. "He's probably going to be cleared, because the shots were fired from the suspect's weapon."

"You're not seriously considering letting that man back on the streets!" Detective Peralta yelled in disbelief.

"Look, he might not be charged but he is getting court mandated therapy as a condition of him staying out of juvie.

Indeed, later that day, Miguel was released from police custody and not arrested for shooting 3 people, but he was forced to partake in court-mandated therapy three times a week for at least the next 6 months, at which point he would be evaluated and he would go from there.

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Over the next couple of weeks, Miguel's life dragged back extremely slowly. Although he was back in school and training, he was completely out of it. He was either being extremely unparticipative, or he was being extremely reckless, both of which were not very helpful to the team. Although the rest of the team were not happy with his new attitude, they were not about to kick him off the team as they knew they needed him if they wanted to stand a chance at beating Cobra Kai. After all, there was nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose. In addition, they knew that his only hope of getting better was when he was surrounded by his friends.

Another massive downside of Miguel's sudden transformation as a person was the remnants of his relationship with Sam was tearing at the seams. His alcohol addiction made it difficult for him to be a good boyfriend to Sam. He often disappeared into his trailer for days at a time without telling anyone, he was near broke due to him quitting his part-time job, and he couldn't really talk to Sam about what he was going through. She just wouldn't get it. She didn't understand pain, like he did. Nobody did. Well, there was someone else, but Miguel had sworn that that man would never darken his door again as it was that man who was driving the car during the accident.

In addition, another huge problem Miguel was facing was that he hadn't gone to a single therapy session yet. He assumed that therapy would be useless and unhelpful so he didn't bother showing up at all. He was putting himself at risk of being sent to juvie but Miguel couldn't care less. From the horror stories Robby had told them about juvie, it would be a place where death would come sooner so he wanted that. He wanted that more than anything in the world…

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A large crowd was gathering around on Long Beach. There was a naked, dead body lying in the sand.

"Damn." The coast guard said as he pushed through the crowd and saw the body. He turned on his walkie talkie. "We got a dead body on the beach. Washed up near lifeguard tower 17."

The coast guard unfurled his baton and gently poked the body.

"OW!" The body exclaimed. Everyone gasped and jumped back. Stumbling to his feet, Miguel groaned at the sunlight as he took in his surroundings. He had gotten black out drunk the day before so he didn't remember passing out on the beach in the first place. When the man saw the coastguard, he smiled at him.

"Oh, hey, man. Um… I live just right up the beach there. I must have gotten lost." He said, pointing at a trailer in the distance. He started to get up but was stopped by the coast guard.

"Stay right here! This is indecent exposure. You need to cover yourself up!" The coastguard shouted.

Miguel looked down and realised he was naked.

"You make a valid point, officer. The sun can be a bitch."

With that, he took an overlarge sunhat from one of the gawking tourists but rather than covering up his genitals, he put it on his head and walked away.

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"Will you go and put some damn clothes on?!" Daniel demanded to Sam that afternoon as she came downstairs in a tank top and booty shorts.

"I'm dressed." Sam replied. Daniel shook his head and scowled at her.

"Uh-uh-uh, you take your narrow butt upstairs and put something on that covers it. We're having company over for dinner tonight!" Daniel stated. Sam rolled her eyes.

"It's just Miguel. He'll be dressed worse than me." Sam responded. At that moment, Amanda walked into the room and sighed to her daughter.

"It's called pants. Go put some on." She said. Sam sighed and left the room, leaving just Daniel in the kitchen. He was preparing some homemade sushi for dinner and Miguel was coming over. Daniel was trying as much as he could to get Miguel to become close with his family as he knew that Miguel had no one in his life, and he knew that if him and his family could gain Miguel's full trust, maybe they could be the key to rehabilitating him after his traumatic incident.

Suddenly, Anthony reached over to grab a piece of sushi but Daniel slapped his hand away.

"Uh-uh-uh! Don't you touch that sushi. It's _relaxing_." Daniel snapped.

Meanwhile, across town, Miguel finished buttoning up his collared shirt and he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from his counter to take with him to the Larusso house. He had been taught by his mom that when you are invited to someone's house, you bring a gift, and he intended to follow those rules. Miguel had even showered and combed his normally dishevelled hair in preparation for the evening. He intended for it to be somewhat of a new start for him, and a way for him to become closer to the Larusso family, as well as a start to reconciling his relationship with Sam, which he knew was on the rocks. Right before he left his trailer, his eyes trailed to the framed photo he kept on his table of him, Carmen and his grandmother, and he took a lingering look at them, before walking out the door.

"Love you, mom." He whispered, before walking out the door. Even just seeing a picture of her made his heart ache. He missed her SO much. She was his whole life for 18 years - from the day he was born until he was 18 - and to have her ripped so cruelly off the face of the earth was excruciating.

Miguel got into his pickup truck and began to drive to the house. However, around halfway there, Miguel received a call. He answered it.

"Relax, Sam, I'm on my way, babe!" He said into the phone. However, it wasn't Sam on the other end. Instead, it was a spanish voice that greeted him.

"Hey, Miguel! It's Debbie Sue, your realtor down in Ecuador!" A cheerful woman said to him in Spanish. "I have been trying to reach you."

"Um, sorry, yeah. Uh, been a busy week." Miguel stammered.

"Well, great news!" She exclaimed. "The most darling family just made an offer on your house!"

Miguel's phone slipped out of his hand and he was pulled into a flashback of the house. It was the house he had grown up in. Along with the bad, there had been plenty of good memories he had had in that house, and it had been the house that Carmen and his yaya moved back to before they died. Of course, after their deaths, the house went to him. Miguel was thrown into the nightmare of the car accident for what seemed like the millionth time, but each time hurt just as much and felt like the first time. Finally, after a couple of long moments, Miguel managed to pull himself back to reality and he picked up his phone, his hands trembling.

"So, what do you want me to do?" The Realtor asked. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Sell it." He snapped, before hanging up the phone…

Once he was off the phone, he looked at the bottle of whiskey in the seat beside him and picked it up. He knew he wasn't going to the Larusso house that night anymore after that nightmare, so he popped the bottle open and downed it. Then, he sped over to the nearest, roughest bar he could find, and ordered shot, after shot, after shot, after shot. After 5 shots, he glanced sideways along the bar at a gang of massive, burly men and he grinned drunkenly at them, hoping to goad them into a fight…

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"Is he insane?! 3 hours late! 3 hours late! Who does that?!" Sam exclaimed that night. Miguel hadn't shown up for dinner that night and he probably wasn't going to by the looks of things. She too was hoping that this dinner could be the start to them rekindling their relationship.

"I don't think he's coming, Sam." Anthony remarked. Sam rolled her eyes and scowled at him.

"Wow, very astute. Now I see why you're going to go to Princeton." She snapped.

"Sam. Stop." Daniel sighed. "Now, do you think you should call him? Make sure he's okay."

"Oh, he better not be okay after how long I spent working on this meal!" Sam exclaimed, getting up and walking towards her phone to call Miguel.

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THUD! THUD! THUD!

Five minutes later and Miguel had successfully managed to bait the gang into a fight, and he grinned as the five colossal men beat the stuffing out of him. He didn't try to defend himself. He didn't want to. He just grunted and laughed as every kick, punch and throw came. At one point, he felt himself being thrown outside by the gang, and they continued their beatdown there. Miguel giggled maniacally as he coughed blood and the gang kept kicking him. Maybe, just maybe, this could finally be the time he died. But unfortunately, it wouldn't be, and he could feel it. Eventually, the gang of bikers stopped beating him up and rode away on their Harleys, leaving Miguel lying semi-conscious on the floor outside the bar. Suddenly, just as he was about to drift into unconsciousness, his phone rang. He answered it…

"Hello." He groaned, coughing up a bit more blood.

"Three hours late!" He heard Sam shout on the phone. "No phone call? No excuses? You know what? For as long as you are breathing, I don't want to hear it! And I also want you to know that I am hurt, and I'm strong enough to say it!"

Miguel stayed silent as he lay on the cold hard ground, wheezing for breath.

"Oh, you don't have nothing to say?!" Sam snapped, misinterpreting his silence as she didn't know his situation. "You don't have nothing to say for yourself?"

"I miss you too, Sam." Miguel replied, before hanging up the phone and passing out…


	21. Chapter 21

The next afternoon, Miguel was in school, sitting on a bench overlooking the field, still recovering from his beatdown the night before. Sam saw him immediately, and she stormed over to him, angry that he skipped dinner with her family, and then hung up on her when she called him after

"I invited you into our home, to break bread with my family! My dad spent three days kneading and working that sushi fish till they were absolutely perfect!" Sam shouted. "No call! No apology! You're just sitting there with your shades on like you're Johnny freakin' Depp. Miguel, take the damn shades off!"

Miguel slowly sat up and removed the shades to reveal a massive black eye flowering on the side of his face. He glared at her and she looked down, slightly embarrassed. Miguel then got up and walked into the school, and over to his locker, where his therapist was standing, an angry look on her face. Miguel had no idea how she knew he would be there as she was not a school therapist, but he walked over to her.

"I'm sorry to hunt you down, Mr. Diaz, but you've missed our last four sessions." The therapist, a woman named Dr. Cahill, informed him. Miguel started rummaging through his locker, looking for something, as he looked at her.

"I must have gotten the dates wrong! Oh, silly me!" Miguel exclaimed, still digging through his locker as he looked for something. Dr. Cahill rolled her eyes and stuck her hand in the locker, pulling out a small pocket flask.

"You looking for this?" She asked. Miguel turned to her and shut his locker.

"Absolutely not. It would be inappropriate to drink at school. But now that I've seen it, it is my duty to confiscate it." He said, snatching it from her. "You can pick this up at the end of the day. Thank you, Dr. Cahill!"

With that, Miguel quickly walked away and over to the men's bathroom, where he sat in a stall and opened his flask, taking a swig. Moments later, the door to the bathroom swung open and a voice outside his stall rang through the air…

"Huh. So, the rumors are true. Womens' bathrooms are much nicer." He heard Dr. Cahill say as she sat in the adjacent stall. Miguel raised an eyebrow and closed his flask.

"I got to think this is some kind of violation of my privacy." Miguel remarked. Dr. Cahill sighed.

"Miguel, our sessions are a condition of you staying out of juvie. You want to stay in society? You better talk."

"Okay, Doc." Miguel grumbled, taking a deep breath and beginning to talk. "I grew up in an unsafe neighbourhood. Where we lived, there was a gang who had their headquarters right down the road. One day, I was walking home from school when I heard that they were storming the neighbourhood. I ran home to get my family to safety, and in the craziness, I was separated from my dad. I ran back to find him and…"

"Hmmm… let me guess. Just as you made it back home, a gang member shot him?" She asked. Miguel raised an eyebrow and swung open his stall door, stepping out, Dr. Cahill doing the same. The two faced each other and Miguel looked at her, curious.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" He asked.

"That's a humanised plot of Bambi." She replied. Miguel cocked his head and smirked.

"It's a hell of a film." He remarked, walking past her and out of the bathroom. She followed him down the hallway and eventually caught up with him.

"All right, Miguel, I'm done chasing." She said. Miguel turned around and turned to her.

"We had a nice moment there, Doc. What do you want from me?" Miguel asked. Dr. Cahill sighed.

"Something true. Anything." She begged. "What happened to your eye?"

"Bar fight." He grunted in reply.

"You win?" She asked. Miguel shrugged and Dr. Cahill immediately knew. "Losing was the point, I suppose."

Miguel bowed his head down and Dr. Cahill looked at him.

"Look, Miguel, physical pain is better than emotional pain any day, but believe it or not, talking helps." Dr. Cahill said. "What hurts you the most?"

Miguel looked up at her and took a deep breath…

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That afternoon, Tory walked into the Cobra Kai dojo. Kreese had called an emergency meeting so she was forced to leave work early and drive to the dojo. Karate was the main focus in her life. She had no college plans yet, she wasn't dating anyone, so Karate was what drove her life. However, with every passing day, Tory was having more and more doubts about John Kreese's methods of teaching. Although she was all for the No Mercy approach that he brought to Cobra Kai, she didn't believe in using ambushes and the impossible numbers advantage Cobra Kai had over the 4 rebels. Tory was doing a lot of deep thinking lately. Ever since she heard about Miguel's mom's death, she had started pondering about her own life. She thought about how easily that could have been her and her family in that car, and how if she died that day, she would die fighting a battle on the enemy's side. Tory didn't know what to do. On one hand, she relished in the extreme power and strength Cobra Kai gave her, but on the other, she knew that it was not the right thing to do. She also knew that if her mom and brother died tomorrow, they would die thinking that she was nothing more than a maniacal bully. However, she couldn't quit though. Not yet. She knew that quitting now would cause dire consequences. One or two people had quit since Kreese's takeover and all of them had the shit beaten out of them, to the extent that they were nearly hospitalised. She would not be one of those people. She was… scared.

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A day later, Miguel and Sam were walking down the street that afternoon. Miguel was vaguely contributing to his argument with Sam about the best Karate movie of all time. His mind was out of it, as it often was. All he wanted to do that afternoon was lock himself in his trailer and drink himself into oblivion, but he forced himself to go out, for Sam if not for himself. Despite everything, if he had to be alive in this world and not mercifully dead, he did want to keep his relationship with Sam and that meant sometimes doing things he didn't want to do.

They were standing by a sunglass stall on the street and Sam was goofing around and trying on some flamboyant glasses. Miguel, meanwhile, looked around the town centre and his eyes widened when he realised something. Walking towards them on the other side of the road were Hawk and Tory. Miguel gritted his teeth and turned to Sam.

"Hey, Sam?" He said, cutting her off.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning to face him.

"You fancy doing some afternoon karate?" Miguel asked. She looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Miguel pointed behind him and Sam turned and saw Hawk and Tory advancing towards them. They hadn't seemed to have noticed Miguel and Sam so far but they knew that wouldn't last much longer.

"Look, maybe there doesn't need to be a face." Sam stammered quickly. "There's 2 of them, 2 of us. They may not want to fight with those odds."

Miguel shrugged.

"Maybe." He muttered, not quite convinced. Miguel's doubts were right though. Moments later, Hawk and Tory had spotted them and Hawk stormed towards them, Tory following behind him somewhat begrudgingly. The four scowled at each other, their glares powerful enough to incinerate each other. Miguel was finally the one to break the silence.

"Look, guys, I don't want to have to fight you." Miguel said.

"Bullshit." Hawk snarled. Miguel shook his head.

"I'm serious!" Miguel snapped. "I have more important things in my life than this dumbass karate feud. Let's just call it a tie and go our separate ways until the day of the fight."

Hawk chuckled.

"Ever the pussy, huh Miguel?" Hawk remarked. "Whining, crying, complaining like a soft little sensitive bitch."

Miguel rolled his eyes, ignoring Hawk's insults, but Hawk was far from done.

"I don't know how people put up with you." Hawk continued. "If it were me, I would have driven off a bridge by now, just to stop hearing you bitch and moan. But then, that's what your mom did, right? She got so tired of you that she'd rather kill herself than listen to another minute of you."

At the mention of Carmen, Miguel's face filled with rage.

"Mention my mom one more time, I dare you." Miguel growled, menacingly. Hawk grinned. He had nearly riled Miguel up to the level of Miguel finally fighting him.

"Oh, come on, Miguel!" Hawk smirked. "No need to be like that! Your mom was a nice woman! And a hot piece of ass too..."

That's when Miguel finally snapped. He lunged at Hawk and all self-control went out the window. Incredibly, it took him only a few seconds to overpower Hawk, but he didn't stop there. The crude insults Hawk had just unleashed about Carmen had sent Miguel over the edge, but that was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. Miguel was letting out months of anger… hell, ever since his mom died. Although Hawk was already on the ground, Miguel grabbed him and dragged him to his feet, holding Hawk by the scruff of his shirt and banging his head against the ground repeatedly.

Meanwhile, however, Sam wasn't having as easy of a fight as Miguel. Tory was bigger, stronger and tougher than she was, and despite Sam's best efforts, Tory managed to overpower her. Tory stood on top of a desperate Sam, pinning her limbs to the ground so she couldn't move. Instinctively, Tory began to reach for the brass bracelet around her wrist but weirdly, as she looked down at Sam, she felt… guilt. What the hell was she doing? What was the point of this fight? And a spiked bracelet? That could easily kill someone! Tory's hesitation ended up costing her dearly. Her stopping when she reached for her bracelet spurred Sam into motion, who managed to unpin herself from underneath Tory and push Tory backwards. The two of them slowly got to their feet and looked at each other…

At this point, Hawk knew that he wasn't winning his fight with Miguel, and as he looked into Miguel's eyes, he saw nothing but pain and anger in them. It was like Miguel had snapped. Any restraint or control he had in him had vanished. As Miguel took a step back and shoved a bleeding Hawk to the ground, Hawk took that opportunity to turn on his heels and sprint down the street. Miguel wasn't letting him off that easily though. He chased after him and followed Hawk, who had started to scale the side of a construction site. Tory and Sam had even stopped fighting at this bizarre site, and they looked at each other in alarm, their own fight temporarily forgotten.

"Where do they think they're going?!" Tory exclaimed.

"The crazy ones, they always climb." Sam replied, and the two of them sprinted towards the construction site, not climbing up ladders and scaffolding from the outside like the two guys, but running inside to try and stop their friends.

Miguel had his sights locked on Hawk. Miguel wasn't going to let Hawk get away with saying those things about his mom, even if Miguel had to die in the process. They climbed ladder after ladder, leaping from scaffolding to scaffolding, ignoring the shouts and annoyed protests by the construction workers working at the sight. One of them even reached for their phones and called the police on the two teenagers who had trespassed on their highly dangerous property.

Hawk and Miguel both jumped a small wall to enter the inside of the site, and Miguel followed him up numerous flights of stairs, leaping over overturned garbage cans and other items that Hawk had flipped over to try and slow down Miguel. Eventually, they reached the highest point they could go: a single metal piece of scaffolding that was no wider than a foot. They must have been at least 7 or 8 stories up at that point: a fall from that altitude would probably kill them. As Miguel and a terrified Hawk glared at each other, Miguel's eyes scanned around his surroundings. He briefly looked down and saw a massive garbage bin below them, filled to the brim with trash cans. Both of them wobbled and struggled for balance as they had a stand-off against each other.

Sam and Tory spinted into the construction site together, and they made it to a balcony and looked up to see the two guys up high above the roof. Hawk slowly retreated towards the edge of the metal beam, but Miguel didn't hesitate to prowl after him. He was like a leopard at the end of a hunt: he knew that he had his prey right where he wanted him, and there was nowhere the mohawked teenager could go. Tory and Sam looked at each other in apprehension, their rivalry ignored.

"Apologise." Miguel growled at a retreating Hawk.

"What?" Hawk snapped.

"Apologise for what you said about my mom and I'll let you off this roof right now." Miguel said, his voice low but extremely menacing. Hawk continued to edge backwards until there were only a couple of inches between him and the very edge of the narrow beam. "Look, you're running out of real estate here. Just apologise, and you don't have to get hurt. I don't want to fight you, Eli. You were once one of my best friends."

"What the hell are they doing?!" Tory murmured, her voice full of fear. "Oh my God! He's gonna fall!" She exclaimed, interestingly not talking about Hawk (who was on the very edge of the ledge), but about Miguel. Despite everything, she did still care about him, A LOT, and if it wasn't for the girl standing next to her, who knows where they would be. However, Tory was not going to fight Sam anymore. She was done fighting Cobra Kai's battles.

"MIGUEL!" Sam shouted. "Get off the ledge!"

Miguel, for the first time, looked down and saw them far below. That brief distraction provided Hawk with an opening. Swiftly, he pulled out a pocket knife from his pocket and popped the blade out, slashing it at Miguel. However, Miguel was faster, dodging the slash and charging towards Hawk and tackling him, sending them falling down 8 stories and into the humongous garbage bin, the numerous garbage bags breaking their fall and leaving them dazed but unharmed. Miguel and Hawk, in the bin, looked at each other and groaned in pain, too exhausted continue fighting. They both slowly clambered out of the bin and saw Tory and Sam with furious expressions on their faces, and that's when the police finally intervened, rapidly putting Miguel (the tackler) in cuffs and shoving him into the back of a squad car…


	22. Chapter 22

That evening, Miguel was sitting in an interrogation room in the LAPD station, staring at the mirrored glass. On the other side of the two-way mirror stood three people: Detective Peralta, Dr. Cahill and Samantha - Sam had just arrived to bail him out, and Dr. Cahill had been called after the police had taken Miguel in.

"Help me understand this." Detective Peralta - who had taken charge of the situation as soon as Miguel arrived at the station - turned to Sam. "He jumped off a roof with him?"

"It was more like a leaping dive with a twist." Samantha remarked. "But I'm not the most reliable witness. My eyes were closed."

"This man is truly dangerous." Detective Peralta muttered as he watched an unmoving Miguel stare at the wall of the interrogation room, wondering what the people on the other side were talking about. "I can't allow him to be out on the streets. Doc, you're gonna have to back me up on this. I mean, psychologically speaking, he's… he's nuts, right?"

Dr. Cahill sighed.

"He's in a lot of pain. That's all I can say. He lost his mom, grandmother and sister less than two months ago." Dr. Cahill said. Samantha's eyes widened when she heard this.

"Wait… sister?" She asked, confused. Dr. Cahill looked at her with sympathy in her eyes.

"Oh, Ms. Larusso, you didn't know." Dr. Cahill murmured. "She was 5 months pregnant."

Tears welled up in Sam's eyes as she took this in, and she looked through the glass at Miguel. She saw his pain in a whole new light than ever before. This made what she was about to do so much harder…

Half an hour later, Sam had paid Miguel's bail and the two of them walked out of the police station together. At that point, Sam turned to Miguel.

"Hey, Miguel? We need to talk." Sam said. Miguel clenched his jaw and nodded. He already knew what was coming and quite frankly, he didn't blame her. "Look, Miguel, you're an amazing person. You're funny. You're smart. You're the most loving person I know. But I'm really sorry but I can't do this anymore. I can't just stand aside and watch as the person I love most in this world pushes himself further and further towards death."

Miguel looked down and eventually nodded. He knew this conversation was a long time coming - ever since his mom died, he had been a terrible boyfriend to Sam (he hadn't talked to her about what happened, he was often drinking, drunk or hungover, he sometimes disappeared for days at a time, among other things) - but that didn't mean that it hurt any less.

Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, maybe it's for the best." He said.

"How's that?" She asked.

"I mean, we made a terrible couple." He remarked. Sam took his hands and looked into his eyes.

"Hey, look, look. I'm really sorry, Miguel. I'm just at a place in my life where I don't want to be the cowboy risking her life right alongside you."

"Whatever gets you through the night." Miguel chuckled, and he turned and started to walk away. Sam scowled and ran after him.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, wait, and what does that mean?!" She exclaimed. Miguel looked at her and sighed.

"Come on. We were both there at the fight this afternoon. I saw you. You were scared. You don't want to die." Miguel said in a gentle, calm voice. Sam, however, was the opposite of calm now. After everything, Miguel had the nerve to judge her!

"No, I _don't_ want to die! Unlike you, who tries to accomplish that every second of the day!" She spat, yelling at him.

"Understand I am not trying to judge you." Miguel said, still keeping his soft, kind voice. "All right? I get it."

Miguel started to walk away, but Sam wasn't done. She shouted after him…

"You know what? You've snapped, Miguel! You want to kill yourself? Go right ahead! But don't you dare judge me for wanting to stay alive!"

Miguel, who had his back to her, slowly turned around to face her, his face an unreadable expression.

"Okay, Sam." He said, calmly. "I still think you shouldn't be out there fighting, though. There are plenty of good people in this world who aren't fighting a karate war. Go be one of them."

With that, Miguel finally walked away, completely alone. No one in his corner. No more people he loved in this world. Truly broken…

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That afternoon, when Tory walked into the Cobra Kai dojo, the dojo was full, and the students didn't look happy, least of all Hawk, who was sporting bruises and gashes from his fight with Miguel. He glared at Tory when she walked in, and she noticed that Kreese didn't look too happy either. She expected this though. After all, her and Hawk had lost their fight to Sam and Miguel.

"Ahh, Ms. Nichols. Just the person I wanted to see." Kreese said. "Hawk here just finished telling us about your encounter with Mr. Diaz and Ms. Larusso from earlier today. He told me you lost."

Tory looked down. Although she didn't want to fight against Miguel and his group anymore, she was scared what would happen if she tried to quit so she stayed quiet.

"I'm sorry, Sensei." Tory said. "I don't know what to say. No excuses. They beat us. They were stronger than us."

"Really?" Kreese asked. "Because that's not Hawk's version of the story."

Tory's heart dropped. Did Hawk really sell her out like that, putting her life in danger and at the mercy of the ruthless gang of Cobras?

"What did Hawk say happened?" Tory stammered, trying desperately to stay calm. Her eyes flickered towards the door which, at Kreese's nod, Kyler had just locked.

"He said that you showed mercy." Kreese replied. "He told me that you had Ms. Larusso at your mercy but you didn't deliver the finishing blow. You let her go. And then, when Hawk provided you with a distraction by drawing away Mr. Diaz, you didn't take it. You stood there, right next to Ms. Larusso, and you didn't fight her. I hope you are not having second thoughts about our cause, Ms. Nichols, because if you are, there are… dire consequences."

As Kreese said the last sentence, the Cobras all circled around Tory. She shook her head furiously, whipping her head around to glare at the prowling Cobras.

"Sensei, I'm not backing out." Tory snapped. "I just got distracted when Miguel and Hawk started climbing up the construction site. It won't happen again."

"I should hope not." Kreese growled. "And I hope that your prior relationship with Mr. Diaz will not make you lose sight on our fight because if they do, that would be a conflict of interest and we would need to forcefully remove you from this team. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sensei!" Tory stated, but internally, she was in turmoil. She knew that fighting with this dojo was going to get her killed, and it was the wrong thing to do from the moment Johnny left. She needed to get out. FAST.

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A couple of days later, Miguel walked into Dr. Cahill's office for his weekly therapy appointment. He was not looking forward to it, as always. Him and the Doctor had a long silent standoff, before Dr. Cahill finally broke the silence.

"Look, we could move our session to your high school's men's room if that would make you feel more comfortable." She suggested. Miguel chuckled and shook his head.

"No. No. It smells much nicer in here." He replied. They had another brief silence before Cahill spoke again.

"Look, we can talk about crappy Disney movies…"

"Classics." Miguel interrupted. Dr. Cahill rolled her eyes and continued…

"...Or we can talk about the events of the other day." She replied. "You scaled an 8 story construction site and tackled your ex-best friend, with no regard for either of your safeties. I saw a video of it, Miguel. You like it up there." Cahill remarked. "Inches from death. So close to the edge. You're so angry. And one day, it's going to kill you."

Miguel looked down and took a deep breath.

"I mean, when I was a kid, certainly after my mom passed, that anger… it's like a fire. Sometimes it gets so hot I just want to jump outside of myself, you know?"

Dr. Cahill wrote down nearly every word he said before speaking again.

"Miguel, what are your plans tonight?" She asked, randomly. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Doc, I mean, it's a little forward." He joked. She rolled her eyes.

"I mean when you leave here." She said. "When there's no one else around. When you go home."

"Well, I don't have a home. Sold it the other day." Miguel replied. Dr. Cahill slowly nodded.

"You mean back in Ecuador?"

"Mm-hmm." Miguel nodded, all of the memories of him and his mom in that old house flooding through his head and leaking into his voice. Dr. Cahill sensed the emotion in his voice and she sighed.

"Miguel, I can't fix you." She said. "There are no words in the world that can make up for what you lost."

"Then what am I doing here?" Miguel asked.

"I just want to help take away some of your pain." She said. Miguel chuckled and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. He shook his head.

"Sorry, Doc. Pain's all I got…"

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After Miguel's therapy session, it was already nightfall so he got into his car and was about to drive home to his trailer when his phone buzzed, alerting him to the fact that he had one unread message. He pulled out his phone to reveal a text from Tory. Miguel raised an eyebrow as he read it.

**Go to where we first kissed. ALONE. T**

The short message was enough to peak Miguel's curiosity so he turned his car around and headed towards the abandoned playground where they had their first kiss. Miguel had no idea what Tory wanted with him - for all he knew, this could be an ambush set up by the Cobras, but he didn't really care. He parked outside the playground and stepped out of his car. He walked out onto the empty playground, knowing that Tory was probably watching from a short distance away, checking to see if he came along or he brought the other rebels. Miguel held his arms up in surrender and called out to the darkness as he stood by the slide.

"Hey, Tory!" Miguel called, not at all worried. "Sorry to barge in! Look, I'm not here to fight you! I just want to talk!"

There was no reply, so Miguel sighed and continued talking.

"Have you ever been hunting?" Miguel asked into the darkness. "If you have, you'd know how awful it is. I mean, at first it's all right. You know, you're out in the woods. It's quiet. Just you and the nature. Then you realise you can't move, can't take a leak, can't talk, in fear of scaring away the animals. You're just sitting there, waiting. Staring down the rifle. Then the silence becomes deafening. Nothing to say, no one to say it to. Here I am, just listening to the trees again!"

For a long while after that, there was a long silence as Miguel sat on the bottom of the slide, waiting for Tory, wherever she was, to break the silence. Finally, just as Miguel started to get up, Tory broke the silence from the trees a long distance away…

"Hey, I heard about your mom. I'm really sorry!" Tory called out into the silence. Miguel didn't tense up at hearing her voice. He just turned the direction it came from and he continued talking.

"Yeah, um… thank you." Miguel said. "So, why'd you call me here. I know it wasn't just for me to hear your condolences."

"I didn't want to fight you guys after the school fight." Tory called.

"A lot of people think you did." He remarked.

"You having trouble making up your own mind?" She asked.

"Yeah, well, I mean, you had your motivation. Sam and I did kiss that night, and she did beat you in the school fight…"

"Yeah, I did hate her then." Tory said. "But like a normal person, I got over it. You know, I'll tell you, you looked pretty damn calm for someone who could have been walking into a massive ambush."

"It's not my first time." Miguel chuckled. "Hey, Tory, why don't you come out of your hiding place? We can have an actual conversation."

Finally, after another lengthy silence, leaves rustled loudly as Tory slowly stepped out of her hiding spot. When Miguel saw her without the haze of fighting and pain in her eyes for the first time since they were together, his breath hitched in his throat. Despite his history with Sam, Tory was hands down the most beautiful woman he'd ever met.

The two of them slowly walked towards each other and hugged. It was the first time they had seen each other and not been in a fight in almost 2 years. Then, they both sat under the slide, out of sight of any passing lone visitor or car.

"So, why'd you call me here?" Miguel asked again. "Are you quitting Cobra Kai?"

"I want to." Tory said, truthfully. "But it's not that easy."

Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, I get that." He agreed. "I'm guessing Cobras don't take well to quitters."

"No, they do not." Tory chuckled as they looked at each other and talked for the first time in years. "I want to quit. I want to atone for what I've done. I just can't."

"Yeah, in every war, you've got to pick a side, right?" Miguel remarked. "You were originally within the ranks of the Cobras. That's gonna make it very hard for you to first of all quit, and then join our side."

"Oh yeah, somehow I don't think Mr. Larusso is going to be too pleased with the girl who tried to kill his daughter joining his team." Tory stated. Miguel nodded.

"You know, these days, I've been thinking more and more like I don't belong on this team. After Johnny… quit, it's just Demitri, Aisha, Sam, Mr. Larusso and I. It's turning more and more into the old Miyagi-Do dojo and I'm not happy with it. I have too much anger and pain to benefit from his meditation bullshit."

"Wow. So both of us are fighting on sides that we don't truly side with." Tory laughed. "So, what do we do?"

Miguel looked straight into her piercing blue eyes and he saw something that he hadn't seen in anyone since Johnny: complete trust in him. She didn't think he was damaged goods or too far gone like everyone else he knew. He decided on a plan in that moment. A plan that could either backfire horrendously or be the ticket to their success.

"Well, isn't it obvious? We team up." Miguel stated, without hesitation. Tory raised an eyebrow.

"Weteam up?" She asked. "How? We just said that Miyagi-Do probably wouldn't accept me."

"Have you ever heard of William Sebold?" Miguel asked her. Tory shook her head.

"No, who is he?" She asked.

"Well, he was a U.S citizen, who was forced to become a spy for the Nazis when he visited Germany. He was forced to become a monster that he wasn't, and deep down, he knew that this wasn't something he could do."

"Sounds familiar." Tory remarked, comparing this man to her own situation. Miguel nodded.

"Exactly. Just like you." He agreed. "But do you know what Mr. William Sebold did?"

"Changed his name to something less depressing?" Tory suggested. Miguel cracked a smile and chuckled at her weak joke.

"No, he told the U.S about his situation but he stayed in Nazi Germany, using his position within the Nazi ranks to become an American double agent. He learned about Nazi technology, personnel, strategy, which massively helped the downfall of the empire."

"Let me guess. I'm Sebold in this story?" She asked. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, here's what I'm suggesting." He said. "You stay with Cobra Kai. You do whatever they want you to do, even if that means beating us up once in a while, but for the bigger, more lethal ambushes, you let me know in advance so I can get my team out of there. Your allegiance to us stays secret until the day of the fight. Then, that day, we will have all the information we need, and you will finally formally join our side and fight alongside us."

Tory listened intently and she slowly nodded.

"Okay, I'm listening. Who will know about this plan?"

"Just you and I." Miguel stated, firmly. "We don't know who we can trust on either side. As much as I respect and trust the Larussos, they do all have temper issues - well, other than Amanda. Who knows if Daniel or Sam would run their mouths about you if they found out. So, what do you say, Tory? You ready to become a double agent? Our Will Sebold?"

Tory smirked and shook his hand.

"Hell, yeah…"

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That night, after Miguel had finished meeting Tory, he was feeling a lot better, but before he could retreat to his trailer, he knew there was one more thing to do. Grabbing the nicest bottle of wine from his trailer, he drove to the Larusso house and rang the doorbell. Sam answered the door moments later, and she glared at him when she saw him.

"What?" She snapped.

"Look, this isn't one of those 'I want you back' speeches, okay? I just came to thank you for bailing me out of jail last week." Miguel said, handing her the bottle of wine. "Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem." Sam replied. "And I'll see you tomorrow."

Miguel eventually nodded.

"Yeah, all right." He said, and he started to limp towards his truck but when he was halfway there, he heard Sam's voice call him back.

"Hey!" She said. Miguel slowly turned around to face her.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I _will_ see you tomorrow, right?" She asked. "You're not gonna go home and, like…"

Sam's voice trailed off but she made a gunshot gesture and Miguel immediately knew what she meant. He shook his head and looked at her.

"No. Not tonight." He replied.

"But you want to? For real?"

Miguel sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. I do." He responded. "But if it makes you feel any better… I can't do it myself."

"And why is that?" Sam asked. Miguel looked her in the eye when he replied…

"Because my mom'd be ashamed of me." Miguel said. "Crazy, right?"

Sam chuckled.

"That's probably the least crazy thing about you." She remarked. Suddenly, the door opened wider and Amanda stepped outside. She smiled when she saw Miguel.

"Miguel! What are you doing out here?!" She exclaimed, cheerfully. She had always loved Miguel so much. He was different to all the guys Sam had been with: definitely miles better than Kyler and Robbie. In addition, Amanda was the only person in the world who truly empathised with the pain Miguel was feeling, and she knew that her and her family were probably the only people holding Miguel from truly falling off the edge, and were the people who could try and pull him back to safety.

"Oh, he just came to drop this off and then he was leaving." Sam said, holding the bottle of wine in her hands.

"Well, did you invite him in?" Amanda asked.

"No, 'cause he's…"

"No, she did not." Miguel interrupted, smirking playfully at Sam.

"She didn't invite you in?" Amanda asked.

"Nah, which was quite rude, actually. I'm standing here, obviously injured." He joked, pointing to his slinged shoulder, which was dislocated after his fall with Hawk. "In fact, it was fighting alongside your daughter that got me injured in the first place."

"You hungry?" She asked. "We're about to have dinner. Would you like to come in?"

"No, he can't…" Sam stammered.

"Yeah, and I-I ate like a week ago, so, you know, I'm fine." Miguel joked. "I mean, it smells great, but…"

"Tastes even better. Get in here!" Amanda laughed. Miguel grinned and walked into the house with Amanda, smirking and winking at Sam as he walked in. She sighed and rolled her eyes. That man was absolutely ridiculous, but now that they were no longer together and she wasn't as responsible for him, she couldn't imagine life without him…

**Please review with feedback, ideas and comments. It would mean the world to me, and I also need some ideas for coming chapters!**

**In addition, feel free to PM/review any ideas you have as to what is going to happen during Season 3. It's so close now! I need some ideas for what I am going to add in future chapters so it would be good to hear what you guys think will happen in the next season so I can include some of your ideas in the story.**

**Merry Christmas, y'all!**


	23. Chapter 23

_Miguel was lying in his trailer when suddenly, he blinked and his mom was standing by the door, the outside of the trailer shrouded in a blinding white light. Miguel leapt to his feet at the sight of his mom. Seeing her again made his heart throb, made only worse by the fact that she was holding in her arms a young baby - his baby sister._

_"M-m-mom." He stammered. She smiled at him and looked him in the eye._

_"Join me." She said. Miguel slowly got off the couch._

" _What?" He asked. She laughed._

_"Join me." She said again. Miguel started walking her and she took his hands in her own and started to pull him into the light when suddenly, he was dragged out of the dream like he was emerging from underwater._

Miguel panted for breath as he woke up abruptly from his dream. Although that was just a dream, there was a certain lightness to it. It was like all of the pain and sorrow he was feeling had been taken away. Miguel craved for that more and more each day. That relief was out of reach for as long as he was on Earth though.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of water leaking from the other side of his trailer. He shot up and rolled off his couch to see where the water was coming from, and to his great annoyance, it wasn't water. It was a dog taking a leak on the side of his trailer.

"Hey! What the hell?" Miguel exclaimed. "No, no, all right, I live here!"

Miguel walked over to the dog and noticed that didn't have a leash, meaning he was a stray. Miguel petted him as he wagged his tail.

"How'd you get in here?" Miguel asked him. "What are you doing?"

The dog merely whined at him and Miguel sighed.

"Yeah, we all got problems, dude. Let's go. Up. Come on. Out, out, out, out, out, out, out, out." Miguel said as he opened the door and pushed the dog out. Once the dog was gone, Miguel put his head in his hands and thought about the dream he just had…

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"Um… Miguel?" A voice said. Miguel's eyes snapped open as he was sharply awoken. A couple of days later, he was sitting in Dr. Cahill's office for a therapy session but for the fourth time, he had nodded off. The dreams of Carmen had continued plaguing him every night until that point so he was insanely sleep deprived. Miguel looked at Dr. Cahill and blinked himself awake.

"Did it again, didn't I?" He murmured. She nodded.

"Yep." She replied. "But how about we try to salvage the last five minutes of our session and talk about your sleeping problem?"

"I don't have a sleeping problem." Miguel grumbled.

"No, not in here you don't. How about at home?" She asked. "Still having those dreams?"

Miguel nodded and put his head in his hands. Dr. Cahill read between the lines and sighed.

"They're getting worse, aren't they?"

"Well… depends on how you look at them." Miguel remarked.

"Tell me." She asked. "What do you do… in the dreams? Do you talk to her? Hug her? Play games with her?"

Miguel took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"She talks to me." Miguel said eventually.

"What does she say?" Cahill asked.

"Join me." Miguel replied.

"Is that what you want?" Cahill asked.

"Some days." Miguel admitted. Cahill raised an eyebrow.

"Just some days?" She questioned. Miguel sighed.

"Most days." He said, before shaking his head. "Every day."

Suddenly, Miguel's phone buzzed and he picked it up to read a message from Sam.

**Big event today in training in the Coyote Creek forest. I'm stopping at Miyagi-Do on my way. Meet me there**

Miguel stood up.

"Sorry, gotta go." Miguel said.

"Saved by the bell." Dr. Cahill stated. Miguel shrugged and pointed at the couch.

"You know, you need to get, like, a duvet cover for this thing." He said. "You know? Like, some bigger pillows for it."

"I'll keep it in mind." She laughed as Miguel left the room.

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Half an hour later, Miguel parked his truck at the Coyote Creek meeting point in the forest and he got out. Daniel, Aisha, Demitri and an unfamiliar man (of, course, it wasn't Johnny as no one had seen or heard from him since the funeral) were a short distance away so Miguel started to walk towards them. However, before he could make it, Sam parked her car beside him and got out. She stormed over to him, angry.

"Dude!" She snapped.

"Yo!" Miguel said as he continued to walk towards the group and Sam ran up alongside him.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed. "I told you I was stopping by Miyagi-Do!"

"You said 'I'll meet you there.'" Miguel said, confused.

"Yes, 'there'. At Miyagi-do, and then we drive together!" Sam said.

"Well, 'there' means the forest." Miguel stated.

"Maybe in Ecuador! Not in L.A." Sam said. Finally, they arrived at the group of teenagers so Sam turned to Aisha.

"Aisha, tell him what 'there' means here." Sam said. Aisha raised an eyebrow, confused.

"There where?" Aisha asked.

"Here." Sam said. "If I say, meet me there, where do you go?"

"There." Aisha said.

"And that's where?" Sam snapped.

"Here." Aisha replied. Miguel sighed and put his head in his hands.

"Well, okay. That's great. I'm glad you guys cleared that up for me." Miguel remarked, sarcastically. "So, Mr. Larusso, what are we doing here and who's the new sensei?"

Daniel smiled.

"Well, guys, I'd like you to meet another of Mr. Miyagi's old students, Mr. Eric McGowen. I called in a favour with him so he's going to help training you." He announced. Eric waved at them and Sam smiled.

"Wait, I know you!" She exclaimed. Eric used to work security down at the Larusso auto dealership so because of all of the time Sam would spend there after school when she was a kid, Eric would help her with her homework, problems and a lot of other things while her parents were busy. Daniel nodded.

"Yeah, he was our security guard at the dealership for a while so Sam saw him quite a bit." Daniel explained to the others. Sam nodded, smiled and gave Eric a hug.

"H-hey, Sam!" Eric chuckled.

"How are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I'm good." Eric smiled.

"You taking it easy there?" She asked.

"Oh, 'there'? Don't confuse the man, Sam." Miguel muttered. Sam rolled her eyes and sighed.

"My new teammate. Mr. Delightful." Sam said.

"Miguel Diaz." Miguel said, shaking Eric's hand.

"Nice to meet you." Eric said. He then clapped his hands together. "Now, are y'all ready to get training…"

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"So, how are your parents and Anthony?" Eric asked Sam as the two of them sat in the Larusso house that night after training to catch up and plan the next day.

"Well, my parents are as usual. Kicking ass. Selling cars." Sam replied. "And how's Aunt Sarah?"

Sarah was Eric's mom, and because of all the issues between Amanda and Daniel's mom, Eric's mom had acted like a grandma to Sam: baking her cookies, buying her Christmas presents, all of that grandma stuff. Eric looked down and sighed.

"My mom died of ovarian cancer 6 months ago." Eric murmured. Sam's heart dropped and tears filled her eyes. That was devastating.

"What?! Oh, God, no!" Sam murmured.

"She wanted to keep it very private. Died like she lived."

"Eric, I wish I could have been there for you." Sam said to the middle aged man who was like a second father to her.

"Well, sad thing was that I was so committed to the Air Force after I moved out of the house, and then to your dad's company when I worked security there that I didn't spend nearly as much time with her as I should have. I hadn't talked to her in months."

Suddenly, Miguel walked into the room and poured a cup of coffee and smirked at them.

"Look at this. Little family reunion. This warrants a little bit of scotch at least, right?" Miguel asked, cheerfully, pulling out a hip flask.

"You know, for this reunion, a Babs would be more appropriate." Eric said.

"Oh, yeah! A babs!" Sam exclaimed.

Miguel took out his phone.

"Even better. What's her number?" Miguel asked.

"Wait a minute…" Eric said. "He doesn't know what a Babs is?"

"Nope." Sam grinned.

"Are you teaching him nothing?!" Eric exclaimed. Sam laughed.

"It's not that I'm not teaching him, he's just not learning." She replied. "A Babs - Bad Ass Breakfast Sandwich. Eric used to bring me one ever Friday after school from the only deli that does it right."

"So, you guys decide on tomorrow's training yet?" Miguel asked.

"Not yet." Sam said. "Actually, yeah. This whole time with the training, we've been focusing on become strong enough to beat Cobra Kai in a controlled situation. We have no idea what the actual location is going to be like."

Miguel immediately understood what she was implying.

"Right. But if we train at the location where we're going to be fighting, we can get to know the location better and…" He started.

"Modify the setting to suit our needs and advantages." Sam confirmed. "So we're going to practise fighting on that surface, and…"

"Hide tools, weapons and all that other stuff we might need when fighting, and practise using them." Miguel finished. Eric raised an eyebrow at the back and forth plan creation Miguel and Sam had created on the fly.

"You know, for new teammates, you two are pretty good together." Eric remarked. Sam and Miguel looked at each other and shrugged.

"Meh." They said, simultaneously.

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The next morning, Sam was sitting in the kitchen when Amanda walked in. Sam had been up all night the night before between schoolwork, training and catching up with Eric so she was exhausted as she sipped a cup of coffee. Amanda smiled at her daughter and kissed her on the head as she walked past.

"Hey, sweetie. You look exhausted. What time did you sleep last night?" Amanda asked.

"I didn't." Sam replied. "I pulled an all-nighter. I have a lot of exams next week so after Eric left, I didn't get any time to sleep. Just wanted to get a decent cup of coffee before I head to training."

"Well, you're gonna need some sleep when you get home. Let's push back our dinner reservation." Amanda suggested. Once a month, Sam and Amanada went out to dinner together for a Ladies' Night and they had planned to go that night but Sam looked too tired.

"No. It's not a good thing." Sam said. "Firstly, Miguel's mom passed away suddenly, and then yesterday, when we ran into Eric, I found out that Aunt Sarah died. 6 months ago. Cancer."

"No!" Amanda whispered.

"He said he wanted to spend time with his mom once his workload lessened. I don't want to be Eric. Girls' Night. Tonight." Sam said. Amanda nodded.

"Deal." She smiled at her daughter. Sam then looked up and saw a familiar person standing by the back door. She sighed.

"Hey, look who's here." She muttered. It was Miguel, and he was standing by the door but not coming in. Amanda laughed.

"Invite him in." She said. Reluctantly, Sam stood up and walked over to the door, opening it.

"Hey, Miguel! What are you doing here?" She asked, confused. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked. "I'm 'here.'"

"Why?" Sam snapped.

"'Here' is 'there'." He said.

"No, no, no. 'There' is Miyagi-Do. Here is my house. We meet 'there', and then we drive together." She corrected. Miguel groaned and banged his head against the doorframe.

"So now what do we do?" He grumbled.

"I'm gonna go take a shower. Try not to steal nothin'." She said, walking out of the room and leaving Miguel alone in the kitchen. Once she was gone, Miguel threw four pieces of processed turkey in a frying pan and he whistled as he fried them. Normally, he was an amazing, gourmet chef but since his mom's death, he had lost the will to cook good food. After her shower, Sam walked into the kitchen to see Miguel standing over the stove. She rolled her eyes.

"Just make yourself at home, Miguel." She remarked, sarcastically. Miguel chuckled.

"Oh, thanks. I already did." He replied.

"So how long were you waiting outside?" Sam asked.

"I was gonna come in, you know, but I didn't want to barge in on you and Amanda. You seemed happy." Miguel said. Sam smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. Things are really good between us. I don't want to take it for granted because these things can just disappear…"

"At any moment?" Miguel suggested. Sam's smile quickly faded when she remembered who she was talking to and what he had been through and was going through. "Yeah, I know."

"Sorry about that." Sam stammered. "I-I was…"

"Look, it's okay." Miguel reassured her. "You should be able to talk about these kind of things."

"Hey." Sam said, changing the subject. "I was thinking last night that maybe we should talk to some of the Cobras who quit. Maybe they could give us some insight about what we're up agai… Whoa."

Sam's mouth dropped as she watched Miguel dunk his fried coldcut in a jar of mustard and then slurp it into his mouth.

"Yeah, the way the Cobras treat quitters… it's pretty disturbing." Miguel remarked. He knew this in particular from the regular reports he was getting from Tory about the Cobras' preparation for the battle. Although there was still a couple of months until the battle, they were already preparing. Sam shook her head.

"No, that breakfast of yours is disturbing. That is just not right, man."

"You don't want in on this?" He asked, holding out the pan of cold cuts. She shook her head.

"No! Anyways, as I was saying, maybe if we approach the ex-Cobras from the right angle, they might… you know, I can't do this! I can't talk to you while you're eating like that!"

Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"You can't or you won't?" He asked her.

"Both, Miguel. Both..."

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That night, Miguel got a message from Tory and his eyes instantly widened when he read it.

**Cobras gonna ambush Miyagi-Do at 8. GET EVERYONE OUT AT THAT TIME!**

Sure enough, by that night, Miguel had convinced the group to take the night off so none of them were at the Miyagi-Do dojo. However, he decided to stay at the dojo in the rare off-chance that Tory was found out to be the traitor. She was possibly risking her life with every warning or piece of intel she gave them so he wanted to be there to help her if she was found out.

Miguel sat in the dojo as he heard the cars and motorbikes of the Cobras pull up. He merely just meditated on the front steps of the dojo as he watched the Cobras storm in and immediately notice him. The Cobras' heads automatically whipped around, wary of an ambush by the rest of the rebels, despite the fact that even with all of the rebels, it would still be 25 vs. 4 in favour of the Cobras.

"They're not here." Miguel said, looking at the Cobras.

"What?!" Hawk, who was leading the pack, growled.

"They're not here." Miguel repeated.

"Why not?!" Hawk demanded. Miguel chuckled.

"Um… because it's Friday night and they actually have lives." He replied. Hawk clenched his jaw.

"Well, that's unlucky. FOR YOU!" He snapped, and all of the Cobras lunged at Miguel. Before he knew it, Miguel was overpowered. He saw Tory nervously watching on, but a subtle nod encouraged her to join in on the assault on him so as to not arouse suspicion. As he was being pummelled by the entire gang, his mom flashed into his eyes once again.

"Join me." Carmen said, again. Miguel, at that moment, stopped struggling and just lay there, limp, as he got the stuffing pounded out of him.

"Just kill me. Just kill me." He whispered to the Cobras as he was beaten. This was it. Finally, the moment where he could get his sweet release of death. His long-awaited reunion with his mom and family. A short while later, however, a voice cut through the air.

"STOP!" Kreese bellowed. All of the Cobras backed away immediately and respected their leader's orders. Kreese looked at Miguel.

"You know, I've seen many men fight death before when I was in the Army." Kreese said. "But not you. You want it."

Miguel didn't answer. He just glared at Kreese, struggling to hold his body straight.

"Unlucky for you, Mr. Diaz, I'm not going to grant you your wish. Cobras, we're done here." Kreese demanded. "He's been punished enough."

With that, the Cobras got in their vehicles and drove away, Tory looking back at Miguel with one final long look of concern before driving away alongside them and leaving Miguel to collect himself again and forcing him to walk the Earth for longer.

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Later that night, Miguel knocked on the door to his therapist's office door and to his surprise, she was still in.

"Hey. You're in late." Miguel remarked. "Thought you'd be home by now."

"What can I say? A therapist's job is never done." Cahill replied. Miguel nodded.

"Trauma never sleeps, huh?" He said.

"Well, I never got that duvet, but…" Cahill joked. Miguel chuckled.

"Oh, no, if I lay down, I won't get back up." He said. "I saw her again. My mom. She almost had me."

"But not quite." Cahill responded.

"Not quite." Miguel agreed.

"Well, I, for one, am really glad you're here." She said.

"You know, it's not getting any easier." Miguel murmured. "Time's not helping."

"Why would it?" Cahill asked.

"Cause everybody says that it does."

"People who say that don't understand." Cahill replied. "Time is cruel. It punishes. I emean, we sentence people to time. I don't know that it makes it any easier."

"Then what am I doing here?" Miguel asked.

"You're looking for a way to make it hurt a little less." Cahill said. "And in my experience, the only thing that helps is other people. Try connecting with the living, not the dead…"

**Please review with feedback, ideas and comments. It would mean the world to me, and I also need some ideas for coming chapters!**

**In addition, feel free to PM/review any ideas you have as to what is going to happen during Season 3. It's so close now! I need some ideas for what I am going to add in future chapters so it would be good to hear what you guys think will happen in the next season so I can include some of your ideas in the story.**

**Merry Christmas, y'all!**


	24. Chapter 24

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Miguel started to feel a lot better. However, that all came to an abrupt end one morning…

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Kreese was sitting in his office in the dojo that afternoon when the bell on the door of the dojo rang, indicating that someone had just walked in. Kreese sighed and stood up, walking into the dojo.

"Sorry. Dojo's closed today. Come back tomorrow." Kreese snapped.

"Oh, I'm not a student." An extremely familiar voice said. Kreese looked up to see Terry Silver smirking at him. Kreese grinned his signature evil grin and shook hands with his old friend and current business partner.

"Silver. Good to see you." Kreese murmured.

"Likewise." Terry replied. "It's been too long, old friend."

"Yeah, between me here supervising the cartel's action in L.A, and you supervising in Juarez, it's been a while." Kreese said.

THAT'S RIGHT! KREESE AND SILVER WERE INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE JUAREZ CARTEL! Ever since Kreese was betrayed by the Army and was denied a contract extension due to psychological issues, Kreese's hatred for the United States had roared like a fire inside him, so he approached Terry, his old friend and a prominent cartel member in Juarez. Kreese used this connection to join the Juarez Cartel and eventually moved to L.A to supervise the movement of product within the biggest city in the country. Kreese used his role as Cobra Kai sensei to disguise the large transfers to and from his bank account, and he used his conquests with the Army to avoid suspicion. Terry lived in Juarez, but he was in L.A for business. Him and Kreese were organising a handoff of a cache of automatic weapons and drugs that Kreese had acquired in L.A but were being transported to Juarez to be used there. So far, Kreese's working for the cartel had remained a total secret but little did he know that would come to an end VERY soon…

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"Yo, yo, yo, what we doin' today?" Miguel asked, walking into the Larusso house. They had a mere two months until the fight so they were reaching crunch time. Demitri, Aisha, Sam and Daniel were all sitting on the patio chairs when Miguel walked outside so he collapsed on a beanbag next to them.

"Well, last night, Demitri had a great idea for training." Daniel said, looking at Demitri. Demitri nodded.

"Yeah, so I was reading Sun Tzu's Art of War last night…" Demitri started. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds like a fun evening." Miguel remarked, sarcastically. Demitri rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." Demitri muttered. "Anyways, Sun Tzu said 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.'"

Miguel shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my yaya's also said this. How does this help us?" Miguel asked.

"Well, we thought that a good next step in training would be to investigate Kreese's life." Daniel explained. "Put his whole life under careful eye. Spot any tiny detail that we can use against him. I want to know where he eats, where he sleeps, his Army records, his job records, everything."

"This seems like a waste of time." Miguel remarked. Daniels shrugged.

"It won't be if we find something." Daniel replied. Miguel cocked his head and nodded.

"Fair point. Let's do this…"

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And that's exactly what they did. For the next couple of hours, they dug through every single record of John Kreese they could find, but to no success. The man's life was seemingly very basic. He fought for the Army for a lot of his life, he founded Cobra Kai, he then lost Cobra Kai, he tried to re-enlist in the Army but was denied due to psychological issues, and then he was homeless for a while, bouncing all over the grid, before becoming the instructor for Cobra Kai once again. Miguel's eyes weren't drawn to the Army and Cobra Kai parts though. He was immediately drawn to the small period of time where Kreese was homeless. That, he felt, was the key to cracking Kreese's mystery.

After around 8 hours of searching, just as they were about to give up on the scheme, Miguel's eyes widened as he cracked a massive hole in the case. His mouth ran dry and he almost passed out when he realised what was going on.

"Hey, yo! Mr. Larusso! I got something!" Miguel shouted. Daniel, who was having no luck himself, ran over.

"What have you got?" He asked. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Well, I hacked into Kreese's bank accounts and I…"

"Woah, woah, woah, you hacked into his bank records?" Daniel asked, warily. The last thing he wanted was another one of his students going to jail for breaking the law. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry. I just downloaded the records and then left no trail." Miguel said.

"Miguel, I don't think you should be doing that." Daniel said. "I mean the moral and ethical dilemma alone is pretty bad, as well as the legal implications that this could…"

"Look, do you want to know what I found or not because this is kinda huge?" Miguel snapped. Daniel sighed and nodded.

"What did you find?" He asked. Miguel rubbed his hands together and began…

"Well, I decided to start by looking at his income over the past little while. In the short time he's been coaching Cobra Kai without Johnny, he's earned 1.25 million dollars." Miguel stated. Daniel nearly spat out the water he was drinking.

"You serious?! 1.25 mill! That's a crap-ton of money!" He exclaimed. At this point, everyone had gathered around to see what Miguel had discovered. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, I know, right? I'm going to put this in perspective for you guys right now." Miguel said. "Cobra Kai train 6 times a week, at 40 bucks a session. To earn 1.25 million in 6 months, Kreese must be training around… 200 people per session."

Daniel scoffed.

"Well, we know he's not doing that. So how's he earning his money? Laundering? And besides, how has nobody noticed his account if he's earning that kind of money so quickly."

Miguel smiled.

"This is the brilliant part." He said. "Kreese doesn't keep that money for very long. Definitely not the amount that would be noticeable to anyone. He only keeps the 160k, which is the amount he should be earning with 25 students. The rest of the money goes bye-bye."

"So what does he do with it?" Daniel asked, curiously.

"He invests it." Miguel replied. "In Lozaro Toys, a toy company that ships souvenirs and toys that are made in California, down to Juarez, in Mexico."

Everyone started laughing.

"I'm sorry. So Kreese invested a million dollars to a toy company?" Daniel laughed. Miguel nodded.

"Yup. First day of every month, he invests exactly 183 thousand dollars, which is the rest of what he was 'earning' as the instructor of Cobra Kai."

"I'm confused." Aisha said. "Why is Kreese investing in a toy company? It doesn't really seem on-brand for him. Why doesn't he invest in something else like the Army?"

"Well, he definitely isn't gonna invest in the Army because donating that kind of money to a massive cooperation is bound to raise some eyebrows."

"So, Kreese is what, a money-launderer who wants to buy toys for the kids?" Demitri questioned. Miguel shook his head and took a deep breath.

"Kind of. Look, I've got a theory. Just hear me out, okay? It's gonna sound crazy but hear me out."

"Okay, what is it?" Sam asked. Miguel looked up at them and began explaining…

"Well, basically, Mr. Larusso, you were along the right lines about Kreese being a money-launderer. He technically is. However, his job runs a lot deeper than that. I think… and hear me out, I think Kreese works for the Juarez Cartel."

Everyone started laughing hysterically at this point, but Daniel didn't. He could see the seriousness in Miguel's eyes and knew he wasn't kidding.

"Why do you say that, Miguel?" He asked.

"Well, first things first, during the start of Kreese's homeless period, after he had lost Cobra Kai, Kreese was earning a basic Army pension. He tried to re-enlist but failed. Then, around 5 years after he went unemployed, he took a trip to Juarez, Mexico."

"So? That doesn't automatically make him a drug addict. Maybe he just wanted a vacation." Aisha suggested.

"To Juarez?" Miguel laughed. "Look, you guys haven't been there but I have. That place is a dump. And besides, why would a man who is practically broke and living in a homeless shelter go to Juarez and live in and around the area for 10 years? And in Juarez, he earned more than 10 times what his veteran's pension paid him, without having a full time job. He was a cartel member, and he rose through the ranks throughout the course of the decade. Then, like a cobra, he found the opportunity to strike, so he moved back to California."

"Look, Miguel, this is all a nice fairytale story, but you have no proof. And more importantly, there's nothing that links him to the millions he's laundering and then investing in a toy company."

"Right. Let me explain that part." Miguel said. "Do any of you know what a peso broker is?"

"No idea." Everyone replied. Miguel nodded.

"Okay, the best way to explain it to you would be to use this situation as an example. Sam, let's pretend you're Kreese. Demitri, you can be a low-life drug dealer in California. Aisha, you can be Lozaro Toys. And Mr. Larusso, you can be the Juarez cartel."

"Woah, woah, woah, why am I Kreese!" Sam exclaimed, indignantly, winking at Miguel to let him know she was kidding around.

"Yeah, I don't like this casting either." Demitri laughed. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Guys, shut up. Look, do you want me to explain this or not?" He snapped.

"Go on, Miguel." Daniel said, who was, at this point, extremely intrigued.

"Well, Daniel, your Juarez Cartel's drugs are sold all over the West by U.S dealers like Demitri. Those dealers then give the money to Kreese, who launders their money in U.S Dollars. Kreese then invests in Lozaro Toys, which is a toy company that is run by the cartel, and they use the money to make… you guessed it, toys! The toys and souvenirs they make are then shipped to Mexico. They are then sold for Mexican pesos by cartel members, which are then sent back to Juarez to make more drugs."

Everyone was not laughing now. Miguel had just linked every part of the story together.

"So Kreese is a cartel member?" Daniel eventually broke the silence by asking. Miguel shrugged.

"I don't know, Mr. Larusso. I really don't know." Miguel said, honestly. "I just came up with a hypothesis with the information I had been given."

"Yeah, hypothesis. That's all this is for now." Sam said.

"So, what's to stop him from finding out that you hacked his bank records?" Daniel asked, worriedly. This had all taken a massive turn since Miguel's hypothesis.

"He won't." Miguel reassured him. "I've had the server rerouted several times. The furthest he is going to get is a private server in Taiwan. He's not going to get further than that, if he even notices at all."

"So what are our next steps?" Sam asked. "Like you said, we have no evidence of him ever being involved in the cartel."

Miguel smirked at her.

"Well, we find some, of course. According to his credit card transactions, as of an hour ago, Kreese is at a club in North L.A. Chances are he's still there. I say we go and have a conversation with him…"

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"I can't believe I let you talk me into this!" Sam complained to Miguel half an hour later as they parked at the entrance of the club. Miguel recommended that all of the rebels didn't approach Kreese together, so it was just him and Sam who went to the club.

"Oh, come on! It's a great idea!" Miguel exclaimed. "We let him know that we know about his cartel connections. He gets spooked. He calls his bosses and we have the police tap in on his call. It's all over before we all know it!"

"You make it sound so easy!" Sam muttered. "Hey, so how'd you know all of that stuff about cartels. You know, the peso brokers stuff and stuff?"

Miguel shrugged and forced a blank expression on his face. Of course, he couldn't tell her about his dad and how he knew first-hand how brutal cartels could be.

"I don't know. Research, I guess." Miguel replied as they walked through the crowded dance floor and to the other side. They spotted Kreese on the outdoor terrace of the club, sitting on a sofa and talking to an extremely young girl (no older than 22 or 23) and Sam and Miguel put on a brave face, grinning and striding over to him.

"Kreese?!" Miguel exclaimed, cheerfully. Kreese turned to them and smirked cockily. "John Kreese?! Oh, my God! It is you! I haven't seen you since… since you took over Cobra Kai! You look great, dude!"

Miguel squeezed himself onto the sofa beside him and Sam sat on the sofa opposite.

"Do you know him?" Kreese's girlfriend asked Kreese. Kreese chuckled.

"He's just a drunk kid named Miguel." Kreese replied, cheerfully.

"Well, I have not had the pleasure!" Sam smiled. Miguel looked at her and grinned and laughed.

"Oh my Goodness! I'm so sorry! Sam, Kreese. Kreese, Sam!" He said, pointing between the two of them.

"I hear wonderful things about you." Sam remarked, cheerfully. "In fact, I'm a little nervous. I've never been this close to a sociopath before!"

Kreese chuckled and turned to his girlfriend.

"Ignore them, they harass me all the time. Just some nonsense fight we got going on." Kreese told the lady.

"No, no, actually, this is from today." Sam said.

"Yeah, new nonsense!" Miguel exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "He launders millions of dollars for the Juarez Cartel." He informed her. The girl stood up in shock, but before she could walk away, Kreese grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.

"Stay." He growled. "Stay." He repeated in a less menacing tone. "Please. They're leaving now."

"Oh, yeah! Please stay!" Miguel said, standing up and Sam doing the same. "We've still got to go to the police, get evidence, all that jazz! We just saw you across the room and had to say hello, so… hello!"

With that, Miguel and Sam started to walk back towards the inside of the club but Kreese called after them.

"You're just like before, Miguel!" Kreese called. "All bark, no bite. Just be careful out there, though."

"Ok, whatever." Miguel said, and they started to walk away again, but Kreese wasn't done. Without getting up from his sofa, he shouted after them.

"Hey, Mr. Diaz!" Kreese called. "You know how cruel this world can be!"

Miguel abruptly stopped walking and slowly turned around to face him.

"How's that?" Miguel asked.

"Sometimes we lose people, right? People we love. Friends… partners… moms. Just 'accidents' happen, right?"

Miguel's heart ran cold. No way had that monster organized his mom's death! Fire coursed through Miguel's veins as he sprinted towards Kreese, grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt and dangling him off the high balcony. Sam's eyes widened as she rushed over and tried to pull Miguel off of Kreese, but it was like he was in a trance and couldn't hear her.

"Are you talking about my mom?!" Miguel shouted. Kreese chuckled, not at all fazed about being dangled off the edge of a balcony by a crazy person.

"There's a room full of people here." Sam warned Miguel but he ignored her. He just pushed Kreese further over the edge as the onlooking crowd screamed in panic.

"ANSWER ME!" Miguel bellowed. "ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MY MOM!"

"Did I touch a nerve?" Kreese grinned. "I'm sorry, Mr. Diaz."

Sam grabbed Miguel's shoulder and forced him to listen to her.

"Not like this, Miguel." She begged. "Too many people looking. Come on. He's trying to rattle your cage."

Eventually, Miguel pulled Kreese back over the edge and onto hard ground. He chuckled as Miguel shoved him away from him. Miguel turned to Kreese's terrified girlfriend.

"You should get a better date." Miguel told her, before him and Sam started walking away.

"Ah, cut her some slack, Miguel! Nowadays, no one wants to be alone!" Kreese shouted after him. Miguel, without looking back, raised his middle finger at Kreese, and him and Sam then exited the club…

**Please review with feedback, ideas and comments. It would mean the world to me, and I also need some ideas for coming chapters!**

**In addition, feel free to PM/review any ideas you have as to what is going to happen during Season 3. It's so close now! I need some ideas for what I am going to add in future chapters so it would be good to hear what you guys think will happen in the next season so I can include some of your ideas in the story.**

**Merry Christmas, y'all!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Yo so a lot of you guys were wondering if the endgame has changed. IT HAS NOT. It is still a Sam/Miguel endgame. I was thinking about incorporating a brief Miguel/Tory but given you guys' reaction, I'll do something else.**

"What part of no mistakes did you not understand?!" Daniel shouted at Sam the next morning. "I heard that Miguel nearly pushed Kreese off a ledge."

Sam shook her head.

"He didn't push him. It was more a… a controlled dangle." She replied. Daniel sighed.

"Sam, what's going on?" He asked.

"Spring Break makes him a little nuts." Sam remarked. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"A little nuts, I understand. Anthony keeps telling me to order him another Playstation but you don't see me dangling him off a roof. Yet."

Sam took a deep breath.

"Kreese said something about Miguel's mom." Sam admitted. "It set him off."

"Do I need to take him off the team?" Daniel asked. Sam shook her head.

"No. We got this." She said. "Besides, it was him who discovered this cartel angle in the first place."

"Just don't let him get too emotional, okay? That's what Kreese wants. Anyways, where is he now?" Daniel asked.

"At a storage locker. He's looking for clues." Sam said. "I think… I think he has a connection to the cartel that he isn't telling us about."

Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? You think he works for the cartel?" Daniel asked, chuckling at the mere thought of it. Sam shook her head furiously.

"No! That's insane!" She exclaimed. "I was thinking last night, after hearing Miguel talk so knowledgeably about the shipping routes and methods of the cartel, he might have a family relation to them. What do you know about Miguel's past?" Sam asked her dad. Daniel shrugged.

"Not much. I think two years ago, when he moved here with his mom and grandma, it was a pretty sudden move so either they were just eager to get here, or…"

"They were trying to get away from someone." Sam finished, nodding. Every time she thought she knew something about Miguel, he just revealed around 10 more layers of mystery to him. He was like a Hydra, but only rather than heads, it would be secrets. Who are you, Miguel Diaz? How do you know so much about the cartel?

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Miguel unlocked the door to the storage locker and he walked inside. He switched on a small light switch and looked around. It was his own storage locker, filled with all of the things that his family had brought with them when they moved, as well as all of the things Miguel had inherited when they died.

Miguel ran his hand along the gorgeous crib that he had bought for his mom and he smiled to himself. He imagined how amazing his life would have been if he had a sibling. But it all was torn away so quickly.

No! Stop thinking about that!

Miguel shook himself out of his daze and he pulled out the box he was looking for. Inside, was a small LAPD case file. He took it out and read the writing at the bottom of the envelope:

**City of Los Angeles Police Department**

**Collision Reconstruction Report**

**2nd January 2016**

**10:36 pm**

**Diaz, Carmen (Fatality)**

It was his mom's case file. He needed to find out once and for all if Kreese had something to do with her death. Taking it out of the box, he then closed the box but as he did so, he accidentally knocked over another box beside him, spilling out a familiar blue hoodie. As Miguel picked it up, he was pulled into a flashback to the last time he wore it: when him and his family first arrived in the U.S…

_**3 years ago…** _

" _We made it!" Carmen exclaimed as they stepped out of the car, parking at the entrance of their new house in California. "Come on! This is it! This is the end of the line!"_

_Miguel slowly got out of the car, shutting the door behind him. It had been a nightmare of the past few years and after 5 years of hell, they had finally made it out of Ecuador and away from Miguel's father. However, it hadn't been without leaving permanent physical and emotional tolls on Miguel._

" _You're telling me." Miguel, who was wearing the blue hoodie, grumbled._

_"Come on! All hands on deck!" Carmen said as she went about beginning to unload the trunk of the car. Miguel sighed and he unlocked his bike from the roof of the car. "Look at those palm trees!" Carmen gasped in delight. "Miggy, do you know what that means?!"_

_"Yeah, watch out for falling coconuts." He replied, sarcastically. Carmen rolled her eyes._

_"Smart ass. It means no more humid Ecuador winters!" Carmen said._

_"I liked the winters, mom." Miguel replied._

" _Oh, you like sweating buckets from the moment you step outside?" She asked._

_"Yeah, and I don't like smog." Miguel added. Carmen sighed. She knew how tough the last few years had been on Miguel. It had been extremely hard on her too, but she forced a smile on her face every morning in hopes that Miguel would also recover too, and gain back his confidence and self-esteem and the humor that made who he was…_

_**Back to the present…** _

Miguel sighed as he was pulled back to the present. If he had one regret in his life, it was that he didn't show his mom more appreciation for everything she did for him, before she died. She had gotten him out of the country when he was too weak to fight anymore. When he was at his weakest. She deserved justice, and for that, he needed to know whether her death was the freak accident it was made out to be, or if it was what Kreese said it was and something more…

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That evening, Miguel walked into the Miyagi-Do dojo and immediately saw Daniel in the corner of the room. He walked over to him, a bottle of scotch and his mom's case file in hand.

"Hey, brought you something." Miguel said, handing him the bottle.

"Oh, Miguel, wow. This is expensive stuff." Daniel remarked.

"Yeah, well, I never got you something for Christmas, so…"

Daniel chuckled.

"Yeah, either way, very thoughtful gift, thank you." Daniel said.

"It's more of a bribe." Miguel said, quietly. Daniel looked at him, confused.

"Pardon?"

"You own a massive car dealership right?" Miguel asked. Daniel nodded.

"Yeah, biggest one in the Valley. Why?" He asked.

"And in a big car dealership, you're bound to have a few lawyers on hand, right?" Miguel continued.

"Yeah." Daniel nodded. Miguel took a deep breath and handed Daniel the file.

"I need you to get them to look at this for me." Miguel said. Daniel took it.

"Sure." He replied. "Oh, this is an LAPD file."

Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, um… I'm just trying to find any inconsistencies. You know, they said that the truck driver was drunk, he was intoxicated, but I can't find any evidence that supports that. Um… honestly, I don't know what it is I'm looking for. I just need some expert eyes on it."

Daniel nodded and at that moment, he read the tag at the bottom of the file.

"Victim's name is Carmen…" Daniel's eyes widened as he saw the name and instantly recognised it. "Oh, uh, this is, um…"

"An accident report." Miguel stated.

"I know, but, um…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Sam and the rest of the group walked into the dojo. Daniel quickly hid the file in his jacket and he surreptitiously whispered to Miguel.

"Miguel, I've got this." Daniel said. Miguel smiled faintly and nodded back.

"Thanks." He whispered back, before they began training.

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A week later, Miguel and Sam were walking out of Miyagi-Do together when suddenly, Miguel's phone rang. He pulled it out to reveal an unknown number. He answered it.

"Yeah?" Miguel said into the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Diaz. How are you doing this fine evening?" The unmistakable voice of John Kreese floated into his ear. Miguel's eyes widened and he turned to Sam, who was going to be driving him home that night.

"It's Kreese. I'll meet you in a second." Miguel murmured. Sam nodded and started towards her car. Once she was out of earshot, Miguel held the phone to his ear.

"Kreese! What's up, buddy? What, did you call to confess?" Miguel asked. Kreese chuckled.

"My conscience is clean." He replied. "I was just thinking about our time together when you were training with us in Cobra Kai. You were such a proud Latino. What brought you out to L.A.?"

"Ah, you know, smog, traffic." Miguel joked. "How 'bout you? What brought you here?"

"I came for the girls, man." Kreese grinned. "Of course, you would know. Your hot Chicana mom was from here, wasn't she?"

Miguel's eyes scowled with fury at the mention of his mom. His hand slightly trembling, he clenched his jaw.

"Mention my mom one more time." He growled. Meanwhile, Sam had just unlocked her car door. Little did she know that that act had just triggered a 10 second countdown for a bomb that was strapped under the car. However, rather than getting into her car, Sam rummaged through her bag and swore. She had left her phone in the dojo. She sighed and started walking back towards the dojo as Miguel continued to talk to Kreese and the bomb timer ticked away.

"You're such a hot head, Miguel." Kreese remarked. "I'm just like you though. I get angry and then… Boom. I just explode."

At that moment, Sam's car exploded in a colossal fireball, sending Sam, who was a safe couple of feet away from it as she was walking towards the dojo, flying backwards but unharmed…

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Later that night, the whole Larusso family and the rebel group were sitting in the LAPD police station as Detective Peralta explained to them what he had gathered from the scene of the crime.

"The IED was triggered by a modified cell phone." He told them. "It could have been detonated from anywhere by a text."

"Any way to figure out who was on the other end?" Daniel asked him. His heart was still pounding. Seeing Samantha's car explode when she could've easily been in it had given him an extreme wake-up call. Miguel was right. They weren't fighting an ordinary karate battle anymore. This was the real deal. They had just told the cops about their entire situation with Kreese, and the cops had confirmed that Kreese had been on their possible cartel member watchlist for years, but they couldn't arrest him as they had absolutely no hard evidence that he was a cartel member. Therefore, even if they did arrest him, he would almost certainly be found innocent.

"It was a burner." Detective Peralta replied. "Untraceable."

Miguel, who had stayed mostly silent since the explosion, stood up and glared at the group.

"He's playing with us." Miguel growled. "He called me to brag while the bomb went off."

"Detective Peralta, were you able to recover anything else from the scene?" Daniel asked.

"Well, you did have a CCTV camera at the entrance of the dojo. It was badly damaged by the fire and explosion but there was a cache of data. We're still trying to get onto it though."

"Okay, so we get him with the video." Sam said, determined. She had not been paralysed with shock after the near-death experience. Instead, she was re-energised that they NEEDED to find this man and prove what he had done.

"How long's that gonna take?" Miguel snapped. "And what if it doesn't work?"

"Even if it doesn't work, we will get him with something else." Sam stated. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"All right, Sam." He growled. "We know exactly what he did! All of us know exactly what he did and where to find him, and we're not doing a damn thing about it! He's not going to be in-town forever! He knows we're onto him now and he's going to escape!"

"Okay, this is what he wants." Sam said, softly. "He wants to get in our heads, make us go after him now, and make a mistake."

"What he's doing is he's laughing at us!" Miguel yelled. "He almost killed me! He almost killed you! AND HE KILLED MY MOM!"

"And you know how?" Sam shouted back. "Because it's what he's been telling you! It's what he wants you to believe!"

"Mr. Larusso, please tell her about the report!" Miguel snapped. Sam turned to her dad, confused.

"Report? What report?" Sam demanded.

"A week ago, I gave your dad my mom's accident report for his company's lawyers to look over. So please, Mr. Larusso, tell her!"

Daniel sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Miguel. My men checked over it dozens of times. There wasn't anything to indicate that it wasn't an accident." Daniel murmured. Miguel's jaw dropped. He shook his head, furiously.

"No, no, no! What about the tox report? The driver wasn't drunk!"

"There was nothing there." Daniel said, gently. Sam put an arm on Miguel's shoulder.

"Hey, look, I know how hard this can be." Sam said, attempting to comfort him. Miguel slapped her arm away though.

"No, you don't." He growled, trying to push past her but Sam held him back and looked him in the eye.

"Miguel, I need you to keep it together. Can you do that?"

Miguel, who had tears streaming down his face at this point, chuckled and looked her right in the eye when he responded…

"I've been keeping it together, and look where that got me. Why don't you keep it together for the both of us?" He snapped, before storming out of the police station…

**So that's chapter 25. Pretty deep. Please, please review! It doesn't take much time, but your reviews, positive and negative, motivate me to write more and better. Lots more to come!**

**I've had some messages regarding the sudden disappearance of a major character so I just wanted to say don't worry, I will talk about Johnny soon! Just keep reading!**

**In addition, feel free to PM/review any ideas you have as to what is going to happen during Season 3. It's so close now! I need some ideas for what I am going to add in future chapters so it would be good to hear what you guys think will happen in the next season so I can include some of your ideas in the story.**

**Merry Christmas, y'all and Happy New Year!**


	26. Chapter 26

Sam sat in the living room, sipping her cup of tea and thinking about the events of the night before. Well, she had stopped thinking about the bomb as much, and was now thinking about Miguel. After making sure she was okay several times over right after the bomb blast, Miguel had lapsed into a silence, which he had only broken when he stormed out. Miguel had finally reached rock-bottom, a breaking point that was a long time coming. Sam was so deep in thought that she didn't notice her mom, Amanda, walk into the room and sit opposite her.

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked, suddenly. Sam was pulled from her train of thought when she heard her mom's voice. She shook her head.

"You know, I'm feeling a lot of things right now, but okay is not one of them." Sam said.

"What's wrong?" Amanda asked.

"Miguel." Sam sighed. Amanda slowly nodded. As much as she loved Miguel and had a soft-spot for him, she could tell that he was nearing the edge pretty quickly.

"Mm… I guess I should start asking, 'What's wrong with Miguel?'" Amanda said. Sam looked down.

"Well, Kreese keeps messing with his head, trying to make him think that he had something to do with his mom, grandma and sister's death." Sam said. Amanda's eyes widened.

"Did he?" Amanda asked in horror. Sam shook her head, furiously.

"No. He's baiting him, and it's working." Sam replied. "I'm afraid he's gonna hurt somebody."

"Look, I know I'm telling you something you probably already know, but you need to be there for him." Amanda said.

"I'm trying, mom, believe me, but he's not having it." Sam said. Amanda nodded and sighed.

"Hmm. You know, this time 6 months ago… he probably thought that at this point, he would be with his mom, grandmother and baby sister. Now he's alone. Can you imagine that?"

Sam shook her head.

"No. I can't." Sam replied, before standing up. Although they had broken up, Miguel clearly needed her and she was going to be there for her friend, whether he liked it or not. She needed to see him…

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Miguel was sitting in his trailer, pouring over his mom's case file, looking for anything, just anything, that would help prove that Kreese was involved in his mom's death. There had to be something. Miguel worked for hours, with no success, anger building up inside him until finally, he snapped. He hurled the file across the trailer and smashed his coffee table to pieces in a fit of rage. He then grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the counter and sat in the corner of the room. After drinking most of the bottle, Miguel was dragged into another nightmare flashback…

_**6 months ago…** _

_It was the day before Carmen died, and the family were exchanging Christmas presents. Miguel gave his mom the present he had bought for her and he smiled at her. His mom kissed him on the forehead and opened her gift. She gasped. It was a gorgeous, dainty gold charm with a small charm dangling on the end: a gold circle with the letter C (for Carmen)._

_"Merry Christmas." Miguel smiled._

_"Thank you. It's so pretty!" She said, putting it around her neck. "Okay, your turn!" She said, handing him a small rectangular black box. Miguel raised an eyebrow and shook it._

_"Now, how did you get a fire truck inside of here?" He joked._

_"Stop!" She laughed._

_"A train set?" He joked._

_"No. Open it!" She exclaimed._

_"Hmm. Grenade launcher?" Miguel joked again._

_"No. Better." She said. Miguel nodded and started to unwrap it._

_"Okay. I don't know what's better than a grenade launcher though." He remarked. He finally unwrapped the gift and opened the box. When he saw what was inside, he almost dropped it in shock. Staring back at him was a positive pregnancy test. "Is this… Does this mean that…" He stammered._

_"Mm-hmm. I'm five months pregnant, Miguel. You're gonna be a big brother!"_

**Back to the Present…**

Taking a final swig of whiskey, Miguel closed his eyes and prepared himself for what he was about to do. It was finally time. He had been living in this world, suffering, for too long. It was time to finally pull the trigger…

Miguel loaded a single bullet into his handgun and, trembling, he put the gun against his chin. Just as his finger began to curl around the trigger, the door to his trailer swung open and Miguel quickly pointed the gun at the person. As they lowered their hood, Miguel realised it was just Sam and he relaxed a little. Well, as relaxed as a drunk person who was about to kill himself could get. Miguel slowly lowered the gun as Sam walked inside his trailer.

"Um… I came to apologise." Sam said. "I need to be a little more understanding about… how hard this is for you. I know your family was like your whole life, it's the same for me too, and I can't even imagine how I would react if I lost them."

"Why don't you go home, Sam? Go be with your family." Miguel murmured. Sam sighed and pointed to the pistol in Miguel's hand.

"Is that gun for Kreese?" She asked, her heart sinking as she realised the answer. Miguel shook his head.

"Don't go asking questions you don't want the answers to." Miguel said. Sam sat down opposite Miguel.

"Well, here's one I need answered." She said, keeping her calm despite her heart racing at the event that could have occurred if she had arrived a couple of seconds later. "If you go and kill Kreese in cold blood, what's left for you?"

Miguel looked her right in the eye when he answered. When he did so, Sam could truly see past all of the haze that the alcohol brought, and she could see all of the pain and sorrow he was feeling. Every morning, getting off the coach and going to training was a struggle. It was like he was pulling a 100 pound weight behind him all day. A ball and chain that he would be shackled to his whole life. He should have been there. He should have been driving the car. Maybe the outcome could have been different. His mom died, not knowing how truly grateful Miguel was for everything she had done for him.

"What's left for me now?" Miguel answered. Sam didn't break eye contact with him when she replied…

"If you really feel that way, then you need to go ahead and turn that thing on yourself and pull the trigger." She said. "Look, Miguel… we don't know yet if Kreese had anything to do with Carmen. But the best way to find out is to find evidence and get him arrested for the bomb we _know_ he planted. Once the police have him, we can find out the rest."

"What if he pleads down, or is found innocent?" Miguel pointed out.

"If the police get him the right way, and he is found innocent, I will help you find him." Sam promised.

"I'm not asking for your help, Sam." Miguel shook his head.

"I know." She said, standing up. "You never do."

Miguel stood up to face her.

"But I know he killed her. So one way or another, it's either him or me." Miguel growled. "Now get out of my trailer…"

Sam sighed.

"You know what? I'm done trying to help you." Sam said, and she walked out of his trailer. Miguel slid to the ground of his trailer. He had finally done it. He had finally managed to get his final friend in the world to turn her back on him. He was finally ready to punch out his ticket on Earth. However, just as he lifted the gun again, there was a knock on the door. Miguel growled and stood up, storming to the door and flinging it open.

"Sam! What part of get the hell out did you not under… wait, Tory?" Miguel asked. Sure enough, standing outside his trailer was Tory. But this wasn't regular badass Tory. Tears streamed down her face and her whole body was trembling. Miguel invited her in and she stumbled inside. "Um… are you okay? What's going on?"

Tory didn't respond. Instead, she walked across the trailer, grabbed a bottle of scotch and downed it. Miguel raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Hey! I was… saving that." He said, but his voice trailed off. "Tory, are you okay?" He asked again, concerned. Eventually, Tory, with hands still shaking, pulled out a file from her jacket. She handed it to him.

"Miguel, your mom's death wasn't an accident. I think… I think Kreese killed her…"

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**An hour ago…**

Tory was walking home from Cobra Kai, thinking deeply. It had been nearly a month since she had made the deal with Miguel to be a double agent for the rebel team and she wasn't too happy. To be honest, she wasn't doing much. Although she was telling Miguel everything she could about Cobra Kai's tactics, weapons and ambushes, she felt like she could be doing more. She wanted to be a better person. She wanted to put the past behind her and focus on the future. Enough was enough. Damn the consequences, the next day, she was quitting Cobra Kai, even if she wasn't accepted into the rebel group. She couldn't morally continue to help the Cobras, even if there was a loftier goal in sight. Besides, if she did quit, she was sure she could find a way to join the rebels in their final fight, even if they didn't want her around for training.

As Tory walked past a small apartment compound - not unlike Miguel's - on her way home, she heard a familiar, raised voice: Kreese. He seemed to be arguing with someone in a room. Tory was instantly curious. This didn't sound like the normal, composed, calculated Kreese she knew. He was nervous, she could tell much from his tone alone. She tiptoed towards the window of the apartment and when she stealthily peered in, she nearly passed out…

There, stacked carefully in the room were piles of money, and boxes filled with guns! Once Tory got over her shock, she hid herself a block away and waited until she saw the two cars that were previously parked outside the apartment drive away. Then, Tory tiptoed back towards the apartment and looked inside again. It was empty, but all of the money was still there. Tory clenched her jaw in determination. This was it. If she could help take down whatever gang Kreese was clearly a part of, maybe it was just the redemption she needed. She silently opened the side window of the apartment and crept inside. In hindsight, it probably was the dumbest thing she could've done as any bug or camera in the room would have spotted her, but she did it anyway. She looked around at the money and guns stashed around the room and she finally realised that there was no way she'd be able to tackle this on her own. She NEEDED to get the cops. As she was about to leave the apartment, she spotted an open file on the desk. For the second time that night, she spotted a familiar face but it was this one that sent chills down her spine. At the top of the file, stapled to it, was a picture of Miguel's mom!

Why the hell was Miguel's mom on a file found in the apartment of these terrible people?! Tory swallowed her fear and she began to read through it. By the end, tears welled up in her eyes. This was clearly the file of a gang or cartel, and it had clearly been the planning of a premeditated murder. Miguel's mom's death was not an accident; it was a murder, committed by a man named Terry Silver. Tory grabbed the file and took off, away from the apartment of horrors. She prepared to cycle to the cops station to tell them about it, but she knew she had to make one stop along the way…

Cool water lapped at her feet, fizzing and bubbling like brine. She sprinted down the beach as fast as she could, and then she banged on Miguel's trailer door. He stormed out moments later, shouting something about Sam, but when he saw it was her, he had a confused look on his face.

"Um… are you okay? What's going on?"

Tory didn't respond. Instead, she walked across the trailer, grabbed a bottle of scotch and downed it. Miguel raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Hey! I was… saving that." He said, but his voice trailed off. "Tory, are you okay?" He asked again, concerned. Eventually, Tory, with hands still shaking, pulled out a file from her jacket. She handed it to him.

"Miguel, your mom's death wasn't an accident. I think… I think Kreese killed her…"

Miguel's head was spinning as he opened the cartel file and read the file that finally confirmed what he already suspected: his family's death was not an accident. It was a hit. He eventually broke the deathly silence that had overcome his trailer and he turned to Tory.

"Here's what you need to do, okay?" He demanded. "You're gonna take this file to the police station right now. You're going to tell them about the apartment you went to and leave it in their hands to do as they wish."

"Got it…"

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After he was finished talking to Tory, Miguel ran to his truck and floored the gas. Within 5 minutes, he had arrived, and he banged on the door.

"SAM! LET ME IN!" He shouted. Sam, who was inside, groaned in pain. The group had just made the most painful decision ever, and she was not prepared to tell Miguel the news. Sam reluctantly opened the door.

"Miguel, it's not a good ti…"

"He did it!" Miguel interrupted. "He did it and now I finally have proof!"

"Were you drinking, Miguel?" Sam asked, softly. Miguel rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, a little. Look, that doesn't matter! I know that Kreese killed her! I have evidence! I can get justice for my mom! _We_ can get justice for her!"

"Miguel, Miguel, I can't…" Sam murmured, putting her head in her hands.

"No, you _can_ do this!" Miguel exclaimed. "We're going to go down the Cobra Kai dojo, look for clues as to where he is, and we can…"

"YOU'RE OFF THE TEAM!" Sam shouted, interrupting him. Miguel's heart dropped. His eyes widened as he ran a hand through his head.

"W-what?" He stammered.

"I'm sorry, Miguel." Sam said, with tears in her eyes. "We all unanimously voted on it."

Miguel sucked in all of his emotion and put on an unreadable expression.

"Well, that… that must've been a difficult decision for you." Miguel remarked.

"It was." Sam said. "You know, you told me once that you would not kill yourself, because she would be ashamed of you. But that's exactly what you're doing. You're drowning. Okay? And you got to figure out, once and for all, do you want to live? Cause of you do, Miguel, you got to let her go."

Miguel chuckled as a lone tear broke past his wall of stoicness.

"I know. I know." He whispered. "But I can't."

With that, he walked quickly towards the door. Just before he opened it, he heard Amanda's voice behind him.

"Miguel!" She called. Miguel groaned and banged his head against the door in frustration, not turning back to face her. "We are your family."

Sam, at this point, groaned and put her head in her hands. Amanda loved Miguel, but she didn't know all of the crap he was going through, and everything he had put them through.

"You know that." Amanda continued. "You are part of this family. We love you."

Miguel, without even turning back, replied…

"You're a patient woman, Sam." Miguel said, his voice now thick with tears. "I'm surprised you lasted this long. You guys have a good night."

With that, Miguel stormed out of the Larusso house and towards his car. He drove back to his trailer in a fit of rage. He couldn't believe it! After everything they'd been through together, the group chose to kick him out now?! Miguel eventually parked and got out of his car, walking towards his trailer. However, just as he was about to open the door, he saw a figure prowling towards him out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see someone who sent chills up his spine. It was not Kreese, but the man who, from Tory's file, he knew was the man who killed Carmen. And his name… was Terry Silver!

Miguel clenched his jaw and slowly faced the man. He lunged at Silver, who showed surprisingly little resistance, and Miguel managed to, after a short fight, overpower him, knocking him out and tying him up…

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Eventually, Silver awoke, tied to a chair in Miguel's trailer. Miguel sat on the sofa opposite him and Silver merely grinned at him. Miguel sighed.

"Look, I know there's like a specific amount of time I'm supposed to take before I start grilling you. But you're the professional torturer and criminal, right? I'm just a weed-smoking rube from Ecuador." Miguel remarked. "So… that, and I'm bored. So let's just get to it, shall we? Did you kill my mom?"

Silver didn't respond, but Miguel was prepared for this. He grabbed a packet of salt and rubbed it extremely painfully into Silver's head wound, which he had gotten from the fight. Silver groaned in pain but didn't cry out. Miguel sighed and looked at him.

"I'll ask again. Did. You. Kill. My. Mom." Miguel growled. Silver once again didn't respond. Miguel chuckled and walked towards the back of his trailer, in search of a better weapon to torture Silver with. Miguel was unhinged now. He had no one left in his life, so the last thing he needed to do before he checked out was get this final answer. However, just as Miguel grabbed a knife from his countertop, Silver finally spoke.

"You gonna cut me with that thing?" He asked. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I was going to make you a salad and force-feed it to you, but that's a good idea." Miguel joked. "Jeez, Silver, is everything about torture with you?"

"You're not even asking the right questions." Silver remarked. He needed to buy himself time as he worked to undo the sloppy binds Miguel had tied his hands with. "You keep wanting to know, did I kill her. When you know I didn't. I wasn't driving the truck. What you really want to know is, did I give the order. Right?"

Miguel popped open a bottle of beer and scowled at Silver, as the criminal continued.

"See, that would be a better question, huh?" He stated. Miguel shrugged.

"Did you?" He asked.

"Or, a more interesting question would be… what did she look like?" Silver remarked. "You know, at the end. Did she die on impact, or just gurgle her last few breaths."

Miguel slowly walked over to him and looked him the eye. Miguel then smirked and clicked his teeth.

"Naaah. You weren't there, silly." Miguel chuckled, before turning around and walking away.

"Yes, I was." Silver called. "The whole time, watching, waiting. You were so cute together that morning, buying that karate gi onesie."

Miguel's beer slipped out of his hands. That was it. He was done. This man had definitely been involved in his mom's death, and he wouldn't get away with it. That's where Miguel made his costly mistake. He leaned in close to Silver, so their faces were inches away. He then started to untie Silver's hands.

"What are you doing?" Silver asked, confused. Miguel scowled at him.

"I'm going to give you something Carmen didn't get." Miguel growled, as one hand untied Silver and the other held a gun. "You know that you're about to die. Any last words? Better make them profound. Who ordered the hit?"

As Miguel continued to untie the rope binds, Silver looked at him and chuckled. The murderer spoke clearly to him.

"I waited until they were on their way to the airport, and then I gave the order." Silver stated. Miguel shook his head.

"That's not what I'm asking." Miguel snapped, in a low, menacing voice. "Who ordered the hit? On my mom? My grandma? My sister?"

Silver took a deep breath.

"Kreese. It was all Kreese." Silver confirmed. "Too bad you won't be there to face him…"

With that, Miguel had just untied Silver and Silver didn't waste a single moment, lunging at Miguel and using his size advantage to knock him out and drag him out of the trailer, unconscious…

**Please, please review! It doesn't take much time, but your reviews, positive and negative, motivate me to write more and better. Lots more to come!**

**I've had some messages regarding the sudden disappearance of a major character so I just wanted to say don't worry, I will talk about Johnny and Robby soon! Just keep reading!**

**In addition, feel free to PM/review any ideas you have as to what is going to happen during Season 3. It's so close now! I need some ideas for what I am going to add in future chapters so it would be good to hear what you guys think will happen in the next season so I can include some of your ideas in the story.**

**Merry Christmas, y'all and Happy New Year!**


	27. Chapter 27

Later that night, Daniel had just driven to Reseda to see a man no one had seen for months: Johnny Lawrence. After Miguel blamed him for his mom's death and moved into the trailer, Johnny had quit the team and gone off the grid. It was probably the best option, to be honest. Who knows what Miguel would have done to Johnny or himself if he was forced to be around the man day-in and day-out? But it was time now. Miguel needed a father figure, a never-ending flow of support to help pull him away from the edge that only Johnny could provide. Daniel knocked on the door and he heard a slurred 'Come in', moments later. He took a deep breath and walked into the apartment…

To be fair, the apartment wasn't in as bad shape as he thought it would be. There were a few alcohol bottles strewn all over the place but compared to the junk box that was Miguel's trailer, it was a Marie Kondo apartment. Johnny stood up when Daniel walked in, scowling but not seeming to be too drunk.

"What do you want?" Johnny snapped. Daniel walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa. "No, please, invite yourself in!" Johnny said, sarcastically, slamming the door shut and sitting in the chair opposite him.

"You need to come back, Johnny." Daniel said, straight-up. Johnny chuckled.

"I'm never going back." Johnny replied. "Coming back to Karate was a huge mistake. I'm out of that blackhole now, I'm never getting sucked back in."

"Really?" Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Because I happen to know that there are a few kids who would make you climb into that blackhole in a second."

"WHO?!" Johnny suddenly exploded. "The kid who I love as much as my own son?! The kid whose mom I killed, so hates my guts?!"

Daniel sighed.

"You didn't kill his mom, Johnny. I know that. You know that. Even he knows that. But when his mom died so suddenly, and he lost his unborn sister and grandma too, he was angry. He was so angry, and he needed someone for him to lay blame onto, and that person was you. He blamed you because being angry beat the alternative: a pit of depression. But when you left, Johnny, he became untethered. He turned to alcohol, just like you did, and he started drowning."

"There's nothing I can do." Johnny muttered. "He's not a kid anymore. He's 18. He's not even a minor, for child services to be able to take him away. He's legally an adult and he can choose to live his life however he wants."

"That's just it. He doesn't want to live. He wants to die, Johnny." Daniel said, gravely. Fear flashed in Johnny's eyes.

"W-What?" Johnny stammered.

"He wants to die." Johnny repeated. "He doesn't want to live anymore. He has hesitated pulling the trigger on himself because he knew that if he did, his mom would be ashamed of him, but I don't think it's going to last much longer, you know, given everything that's happening with Kreese and the cartel."

Johnny's jaw dropped.

"The WHAT?!" He shouted. Daniel's eyes widened when he realised… Johnny had been completely isolated from Karate for a while now so he had no idea about anything that was happening.

"Wait, you don't know?" Daniel asked.

"What's going on, Larusso?" He demanded. Daniel then filled his former-rival in on everything that was happening with Kreese, the cartel, Miguel, his mom's death, and everything else that had happened.

"Do you know what a centerboard is, Johnny?" Daniel asked. Johnny shook his head.

"No, what?"

"It's a part of the sailboat that you can't see. But it keeps the boat upright, and allows it to be steered. That's you, Johnny. It's why you and Miguel are such a good team, and why you are the only one who can possibly bring him back from the edge. So, will you come back? Please! We need you. He needs you." Daniel said. Johnny nodded and stood up, determination in his eyes.

"Let's go…"

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Daniel and Johnny walked into the Larusso house even later that night, to see Aisha, Demitri and Sam hunched over a laptop. After the whole group (including Daniel) had decided to kick Miguel out, they had poured themselves into finding any evidence of Kreese putting the bomb in Sam's car. Everyone was surprised to see Johnny, but they welcomed him back almost immediately. They knew that with him back, after this whole situation had blown over, maybe Johnny could rehabilitate Miguel. Just as Johnny sat down in the living room. His phone rang, to reveal a random number. Johnny answered it.

"Hello?" He said.

"Sensei Lawrence?" An old, familiar voice said.

"Tory?" Johnny asked in shock and disgust. He still thought that Tory was working with the Cobras. "What the fuck do you want?!"

"Please don't hang up!" Tory begged. "I was just wondering if you've seen Miguel."

Johnny scowled.

"No, I haven't. Why?" He snapped. Then, Tory told him everything that had happened, and the file she had found, indicating that Carmen's death was all planned by Kreese and Terry Silver. After Johnny was off the phone with her, he quickly briefed the Larussos, and then took off out of the Larusso house, speeding towards Miguel's trailer. Apparently, Tory hadn't heard from Miguel in nearly 12 hours, and neither were the cops, so she was getting worried and decided to call Johnny. Johnny soon arrived at the trailer, and when he walked in, his heart sank…

The trailer was completely messy: tables and chairs flipped over from the fight, blood on the various sharp corners of the counter, but what chilled Johnny the most was the gun, lying on the ground. Something bad had happened there. This much, he knew. Then, just as he was about to leave the trailer, his phone rang again, with once again, an unknown number. Johnny answered it.

"Sorry. Bad time. Can't talk right now." Johnny snapped as he answered the phone.

"Not even to me." Kreese familiar growl echoed through the phone. Johnny's eyes widened.

"Kreese, WHERE THE HELL IS HE?!" Johnny shouted. Kreese chuckled.

"Still a hothead, I see. Some things never change, huh, Johnny?" Kreese remarked. As Johnny held the phone to his ear, he stepped outside the trailer to see Silver and two other cartel thugs standing in front of him. Silver had a massive scar on the side of his face and two bruises from his fight with Miguel, but was otherwise unharmed. Johnny scowled at him.

"Your student's a lousy fighter." Silver remarked, pointing to his black eye. Johnny shrugged.

"Yeah, we're working on it." Johnny said, before getting into a fighting position. "Me, on the other hand…"

Silver rolled his eyes and turned to one of his henchmen.

"Hey, Joaquin, do you think Johnny might want to go for a ride to see his student?" Silver joked. The henchman nodded and Silver grinned. Johnny raised the phone, which was still on, to his ear and heard Kreese's voice ring through the phone.

"Sorry, Johnny. Wish it didn't have to end this way." Kreese said. Johnny chuckled.

"Come on, Kreese. It was supposed to end this way." Johnny replied, before hanging up his phone and walking into the custody of the cartel without a fight. He had a bag placed over his face but he didn't care. He was getting to Miguel soon, and that was all that mattered…

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Johnny was taken to an abandoned subway tunnel, where he was tied to a chair. Then, the bag was finally ripped off his head, and Johnny glanced around to see Miguel tied to the chair right next to them. Miguel looked extremely surprised to see him, but not as angry as Johnny thought he'd be. Now was not the time to hold grudges. If anything, Miguel just looked… broken. More worn out than Johnny had ever seen him, and it killed him to see the boy who Johnny loved like a son in this condition.

"Hey." Miguel grunted.

"Yeah?" Johnny asked.

"You know what really sucks?" Miguel remarked. "The fact that you're gonna die because you were my sensei, and technically, you're not really my sensei."

Johnny chuckled.

"Yeah, that's, uh… that is bad." Johnny laughed. "Hey, Miguel?"

"Yeah?"

"I, uh… I found something out about your mom's death, and um… you need to know that, um… it wasn't an accident. It was…"

"Silver and Kreese. Yeah, I know." Miguel murmured. Johnny's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"When'd you find out?" He asked.

"Last night, around 1 am." Miguel replied. "You?"

"This afternoon. About, uh, 3:50."

Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"What, so you looked at your watch when you found out?" Miguel snapped.

"No, I have a flawless internal clock." Johnny replied. Miguel snorted in disbelief.

"An internal clock? So what time is it right now?" Miguel demanded.

"6:42." Johnny responded.

"6:42? Hey, bad guys!" Miguel called out into the darkness. "Does anyone have a watch on. I want to know what time it is right now!"

"I swear to God…" Silver growled as he stormed into the room. "If I have to listen to you two for one more second…"

"You could let us go?" Miguel suggested.

"You could let us go." Johnny agreed. Silver chuckled.

"Sure thing. But first, I need some answers. And I don't expect to get the truth without some persuasion." He replied, wheeling into the room a defibrillator and a tray of water. Miguel and Johnny groaned.

"Yeah, torture. That's his whole thing. He wasn't hugged enough as a child." Miguel explained to Johnny, who rolled his eyes. Miguel was clearly trying to piss Silver off as much as possible but little did Silver know that while he was doing that, he was working to untie the rope bonds that held his arms back.

"So…" Silver grinned. "Who wants to go first?"

"I do." Both of them said, simultaneously, before glaring at each other. Silver smirked.

"Good, I'm glad you said that." Silver said. He then gestured to his henchman, and the tray of water was placed under Miguel's feet. Johnny's eyes widened.

"No, no, no! Torture me, not him!" Johnny shouted, desperately. Miguel, however, was still extremely calm. He looked like he was ready to embrace death when it came. Silver looked at Johnny, who was struggling frantically even though there was no water underneath him.

"Oh, I am." Silver nodded. "I'm gonna make you watch your favourite student die."

He then turned on the defibrillator and the chilling sound of it powering up filled the air.

"Technically, we're not student and teacher anymore." Miguel remarked, calmly. Johnny glared at him. Really, Miguel? Now is the time you have to mention that?

"Now…" Silver said as he unbuttoned Miguel's shirt so he would have a better target for the defibrillator. "Did you know that it takes less than 110 volts to stop the average pacemaker?"

"I didn't know that. Guess you learn something new every day." Miguel said, looking eye contact with the heartless, merciless Silver and not showing any signs of fear.

"And this defib…" Silver continued. "It runs five times that. Now the fun part? Seeing which gives out first, pacemaker or heart."

"Hey, look, Silver, ask me whatever you want. I'm an open book!" Johnny begged as Miguel's feet were forced into the water below.

"Mr. Kreese is one of the cartel's most key personnel in L.A. Be a shame to waste him if we didn't have to. Who else knows about him?" Silver asked Johnny. Johnny gritted his teeth.

"No one." He growled, obviously lying as the cops, Larussos and a lot of others knew about him at that point, but to keep them safe, they had to keep up the lie. "Just he and I."

"I believe you, I do." Silver remarked. "But we went ahead and rented these, soooo…."

"Hey, no, no. Come on, kill me, not him!" Johnny begged. Miguel didn't say anything at his point. He was silent, but that was quickly broken when the defibrillator was shoved down on his chest. Miguel's screams of agonising pain echoed through the deserted tunnel, and it went on for several seconds before Silver finally relented. Miguel panted when Silver stopped the defibrillator, but he knew his break wouldn't last long. Miguel's hands frantically kept trying to untie the knot that restrained his hands. He was almost there. He knew it. But death was also looming ominously, prowling nearer and nearer like a storm ready to conquer a city.

"Oh, come on!" Silver shouted. "All right, Miguel 1, Defib 0. Now… round 2. Who else knows about Kreese?"

"No one." Miguel growled.

"Do me, please!" Johnny pleaded, his voice scarily small after hearing Miguel's screams of pain. Johnny closed his eyes in horror as the defibrillator was placed back against Miguel's chest for a couple of moments, as Miguel thrashed and cried out. After the defibrillator was finally removed, Miguel could feel death start to overcome him, but he forced himself to fight through.

"Oh, yeah, that was close." Silver giggled, clearly enjoying inflicting pain. "He's almost there. Hey, you know what this reminds me of? Carmen."

Miguel's face went from in pain to angry in an instant.

"You know, I told you I was there that day, right?" Silver asked Miguel. "Kreese asked me to follow, so I watched the whole thing. It was violent. No one, no one sitting on the right side of the car could have survived that. But you know what? She did."

"Come on, man. Stop it." Johnny growled.

"Hey! I'm telling a story!" Silver exclaimed, turning back to Miguel, who was now deathly pale. "The truck didn't kill her. She was still breathing. So was Johnny, but he was knocked out cold so he didn't matter. I had to put my hand over her mouth. And that, my friend, is the story of how your mom died. The end."

At this point, Miguel had finally managed to undo his rope bonds, and instead of lunging at Silver, he started laughing and mumbling something inaudible under his breath.

"Hey, find out what he's babbling about." Silver snapped at his henchperson. The man walked over to Miguel and yanked his hair up so Miguel was looking at him.

"What?" The henchman snapped.

"You're… you're not gonna even know it's coming." Miguel laughed, before finally springing into action. Grabbing the henchman by the wrist, he then grabbed the henchman's gun from his ankle holster, and he fired three bullets, killing all three of the other hench people, but not being hit by their bullets as he used the first henchman as a human shield. Miguel leapt to his feet, watching Silver start to run away, but letting him go. Instead, Miguel turned and untied Johnny. The man stood up and faced his student.

"You okay?" Johnny asked. Miguel shrugged.

"Heart of a lion, what can I say?" Miguel replied. Johnny chuckled.

"Damn right." He replied.

"I'm going after Silver." Miguel said, before taking off in the direction of the tunnel Silver went in. Johnny split off in a different direction, grabbing a gun and looking for any more henchman that could be lurking around.

Miguel turned a corner when suddenly, he was thrown into a wall by Silver, the gun slipping out of his hand. No more weapons for either of them. They had to resort to good old fashioned hand-to-hand combat. Forcing his emotions down, Miguel cleared his mind and thought about all of the karate lessons he had learned over the course of the past three years, from Johnny, Daniel, and even Kreese in some ways. Miguel ended up besting Silver in the end, tackling the bigger man onto the subway tracks and pinning him down. But Miguel wasn't done with him yet. He still had one more thing to ask.

"Where's Kreese?" Miguel growled. Johnny finally made it to the part of the tunnel where Miguel and Silver were, and his eyes widened as he saw a train incoming. On its current trajectory, it was going to bulldoze Miguel and Silver in a matter of seconds.

"MIGUEL!" Johnny shouted, but Miguel didn't hear him. He was in a trance. He held Silver down against the tracks as the train drew nearer.

"WHERE CAN I FIND HIM?!" Miguel bellowed at Silver. "TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND HIM!"

Moments later, Johnny's eyes widened as the train ploughed straight through where Miguel and Silver were moments earlier.

"Miguel!" Johnny cried, on the verge of tears. His son had just been flattened by a train! Looking up, Johnny let out the biggest sigh of relief in the world. Standing opposite him, only being seen for brief flashes as the train broke between carriages, was Miguel, who was holding a semi-conscious Kreese. Seconds later, when the whole train finally went past, and Johnny sprinted across the track, Miguel was gone once again, leaving behind a now unconscious Silver…

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Within half an hour of Johnny calling, police had arrived and had completely swept the scene. Miguel was gone, but all of the henchmen were dead, and Silver was unconscious. Of course, Johnny and Miguel would not be charged for the 6 murders of the henchmen they committed as they were all undoubtedly in self-defense.

Johnny was still reeling from the aftermath of the events though. Him and the Larussos had scoured the entire city looking for him, with no luck. Miguel had, at some point, gone back to his trailer, completely tidied and packed every thing up, and had taken his truck somewhere. Eventually, Johnny figured out one last person who might know where Miguel was…

Johnny walked into the LAPD building after talking to Peralta, who nodded and agreed to a quick favor. Peralta dragged Terry Silver out of an interrogation room and into an elevator, which Johnny just 'happened' to also be in. Once the elevator doors swung shut on the three men, Johnny clicked the stop button on the lift, and he turned to Silver.

"Where is Miguel?" Johnny demanded.

"I don't know." Silver replied. Johnny rolled his eyes and grabbed Silver by the neck, shoving him against the lift wall and choking him.

"WHERE DID HE GO?!" Johnny shouted.

"Mexico." Silver eventually responded. "He's going after John Kreese himself."

Johnny's eyes widened.

"Hunting the second-in-command of a cartel? That's a suicide mission." Johnny snapped. Silver sighed.

"Listen to me, Johnny. Forget Miguel Diaz. He's gone…"

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Kreese stepped out onto the streets of Mexico, breathing in the dirty air and sighing. He was not safe in L.A anymore. He was in charge of the U.S side of the cartel, and was basically the cartel leader's right-hand-man, so he was safe in Mexico. As he got in his SUV, his phone rang. Kreese sighed and answered it. It was an unknown number.

"Hello. Who's this?" Kreese demanded.

"Well, hello, Kreese." Miguel's cheerful voice wafted out of the phone. "Look at you. Someone's been doing Pilates."

Kreese slowly rolled down his tinted window and frantically glanced around, looking for any sight of Miguel on the streets.

"Miguel Diaz. I thought I might hear from you." Kreese murmured.

"Relax." Miguel reassured him. "If I wanted to blow you up, you'd be confetti by now. That's not my style. I want to look you in the eyes when I do it. That's what I'm calling to let you know."

"You will never leave Mexico alive." Kreese growled. Miguel smirked.

"Yeah. That's the plan…"

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Later that night, Johnny knocked on the door of the Larusso house and Daniel stepped outside moments later.

"Hey." Johnny murmured.

"Hey. Did you find him?" Daniel asked. Johnny nodded.

"There's something I've gotta do." Johnny said. Daniel understood immediately. He held out his hand and Johnny shook it.

"Bring him home…" Daniel said. Johnny nodded.

"Yes, sir…"

And within 12 hours, Johnny was in Mexico…

**Hey, so basically, when writing a story, I tend to start planning a month or so in advance. Therefore, I was just wondering what kind of a story you guys would like to read next? Bear in mind, this story was my first ever Cobra Kai story so the next few will be A LOT better as I am still learning. Are there any pairings or couples in particular that you would like to see a story about, and are there any plot lines that you guys would like to see? There is still a long way of this story left, but I like to plan in advance, and I will give you guys some options closer to that time. Just want to hear ideas now.**


	28. Chapter 28

_**CHAPTER 28** _

**2 weeks later…**

Johnny parked his car outside an extremely luxurious hotel in Baja, Mexico. He had just caught sight of Kreese getting out of a car and walking into the hotel. Johnny raised his phone to his face, which had Daniel on the other end. They had been communicating pretty much every day in their search for Miguel, Johnny doing the Mexico side of things and Daniel doing the L.A and money part of it.

"Oh, I found him." Johnny said into the phone. Daniel, who was sitting in the kitchen, raised an eyebrow.

"Who? Miguel?" Daniel asked.

"No, Kreese." Johnny replied. "And if he's here, Miguel is not far off. I followed his mistress to a hotel. He just showed up now. Clearly the man's not being satisfied at home."

"Hmm. That makes two of us." Amanda said as she walked into the kitchen and kissed her husband. "Daniel, you've been on the phone with Johnny all day every day for two weeks now and you guys still haven't found Miguel. When are you ending this?"

"I'm sorry, babe." Daniel said.

"Yeah, sorry Mrs. Larusso!" Johnny called into the phone. "I should've found him by now. This is a disaster!"

Daniel scoffed.

"Mm, yeah, I'm sure you're roughing it, Johnny. I've seen the credit card bills. You know, I said you could use my credit card for whatever charges you needed, but the Four Seasons? Really?" Daniel said. Johnny shrugged.

"I'm tailing the second-in-command of the biggest cartel in the world. The man has expensive taste." Johnny responded. "Trust me, this has been no picnic for…"

Johnny was suddenly cut off when there was a knock on his car window. A waiter was standing there, a tray of food in his arms.

"Lobster tacos, extra guacamole, senor?" The waiter said. Johnny nodded.

"Yeah, put them on the top of the hood." He whispered so Daniel wouldn't hear what his money was being spent on. Johnny got out of the car and started eating his delicious feast.

"Johnny, Daniel, Miguel is a grown man. He can make his own decisions." Amanda said. Johnny scoffed.

"Ha. If only that were true." Johnny chuckled. He was so absorbed in the conversation that he couldn't hear the gunfire that was coming from the hotel behind him. "You know how many phone message thingies I've left for him? Texts? Totally unresponsive. You think it would kill him just to reach out to me?"

Suddenly, as if on cue, the window of one of the hotel rooms smashed, and a man went flying out, crashing down onto the hood of the car next to Johnny's and shattering it. Johnny's eyes widened.

"Hey, Larussos, I'm gonna have to call you back. I think I found Miguel…"

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"I mean, I always knew you as a cold-blooded killer, Kreese. But now I'm seeing you in a whole new light. I mean this right here is some kinky stuff." Miguel remarked as he rummaged through John Kreese's bag and pulled out various items. Miguel had snuck into the hotel dressed in a flamboyant poncho and sombrero and had machine gunned his way through all of the guards on Kreese's private floor.

"Please." Kreese begged. Miguel pulled out a riding crop from the bag.

"You're gonna have to elaborate, Kreese. Are you begging for your life or, uh, you want me to spank you?" Miguel asked, slapping Kreese's thigh with the crop.

"Anything. I'll give you anything you want." Kreese cried. Miguel knelt down and looked at the restrained man right in the eye.

"Don't you remember? You took away everything I ever wanted when you killed my family." He growled.

The elevator doors swung open and Johnny stepped out onto the floor and his eyes widened… guards were lying across the floor, pools of blood seeping into the plush carpets. Johnny counted at least eight of them as he tiptoed towards the penthouse suite.

"You will never make it out of this hotel." Kreese growled. "My men will kill you."

"That's the plan, Kreese." Miguel replied, calmly. "See, you and I are going out together. Good news is, I'm dying with my pants on."

Miguel then pulled out a gun and pointed it at Kreese.

"Now, this is something that Carmen never had. It's the moment that you know, without a doubt, that you are gonna die."

"No, please!" Kreese whimpered. Suddenly, right when Miguel was about to pull the trigger, the door was bashed open and Johnny charged inside. Miguel grinned and lowered the gun he had pointed at him.

"Sensei!" He exclaimed, cheerfully.

"Miguel, lower that weapon." Johnny warned, pointing to the gun Miguel had trained on Kreese.

"Lower it? Okay." Miguel replied, lowering it only slightly so he was aiming at Kreese's dick rather than his head. "Is that okay?"

"Come on, you know what I'm saying, man. This is not a joke. Come on, don't… don't, don't do this." Johnny pleaded.

"Hey, Johnny. You might want to, uh… step back. This is a .357. It's gonna get messy."

"Look, we can do this the right way." Johnny said. "We can take him in. He'll stand trial. He will pay for what he did."

Miguel looked Johnny right in the eye when he responded…

"This feels like justice to me, Sensei." Miguel murmured.

"Hey, Miguel, you pull that trigger and your life is over."

Miguel looked his old mentor right in the eye and nodded.

"Yep. That's the plan" He replied, simply. "Might want to get out of here. They're gonna ask you why you didn't shoot me."

"I'm not leaving." Johnny snapped. "Okay? You want to do this? Then you know what? Fine. Both of our lives are over."

Miguel glared at him and eventually sighed.

"So be it." Miguel muttered.

"Miguel, please don't. Please, please." Johnny begged.

"I'M GOING TO DO IT! GET OUT!" Miguel shouted.

"MIGUEL, I LOVE YOU MAN!" Johnny shouted. Miguel almost dropped his gun in surprise and he ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, did you just say you love me?" Miguel asked, still reeling in shock. He had never had a father-figure say that to him before, so he felt like he had been doused with frigid water.

"Yeah. I-I guess I got… I got caught up in the moment." Johnny stammered. "So hey, maybe there's something that you… want to express to me in return."

Miguel slowly shook his head.

"No, not really." Miguel shrugged. Johnny sighed.

"Come on, man. I just opened up and exposed myself emotionally to you, and… and you don't have nothing… nothing to say in return?"

"Yeah, I do actually." He murmured. "DUCK!"

Miguel roughly shoved Johnny down and fired his gun over his head at the incoming cartel thugs. They had clearly heard about Miguel's invasion of the hotel and were coming to Kreese's aid. Miguel and Johnny then proceeded to pick off the guards one by one with their guns. As more and more guards started coming, Miguel pulled out a grenade from his pocket and he pulled the pin. Johnny's eyes widened.

"You got a grenade?" He exclaimed. Miguel shrugged and nodded.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I had it at the trailer. I was like when am I ever gonna get a chance to use it again?"

Miguel then hurled the grenade at the incoming guards and successfully blew up all of the guards who were there. He then walked over to Kreese and dragged him to his feet.

"Your time will come, amigo." Miguel murmured.

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"You know I had this all under control. You didn't have to come down here." Miguel remarked as they threw Kreese in the trunk of the car. The three of them then tiptoed out of the hotel and somehow managed to make it alive. Johnny rolled his eyes.

"No, _now_ it's under control. We have Kreese. We take him back to L.A, resume our lives, not a scratch on us. Now that's how I roll." Johnny snapped.

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In 24 hours, they were back in L.A, and had just handed Kreese over to the LAPD. They were treated like heroes - it wasn't every day the LAPD were gifted the second biggest person in the Juarez Cartel - but Miguel didn't feel very good. Kreese still hadn't paid for what he'd done. He hadn't suffered like Carmen, his yaya and his unborn sister had suffered. And what's more, Miguel had slaughtered around 15 cartel thugs on his path to Kreese, and in the end, it was all for nothing. Sure Kreese would be going through a trial and a probable prison sentence, but there was a chance he would still walk free. In that case, Kreese knew exactly where Miguel lived, and he knew the people who Miguel held dearest to him. None of them would be safe in that situation.

Detective Peralta, who had just finished locking Kreese in a holding cell, walked over to Miguel and Johnny. Johnny side glanced at Miguel as the detective walked over. His student had barely said a word on the ride back from Mexico. Johnny could tell that Miguel was struggling not to park the car, open the trunk where they were holding Kreese, and put a bullet in the criminal's brain.

"Hey guys. Captain wants to see you." Detective Peralta told them, pointing to the office at the back of the precinct. Johnny and Miguel stood up from their seats and walked into the room. The Captain quickly shut the door behind him, before turning to the two men.

"Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Diaz, I'm Captain Raymond Holt. I believe you've been talking to one of my detectives thus far, but I'll take it from here. I'd like to start by saying that it's really nice to meet you both. Mr. Diaz, I've heard a lot about you from my colleague in particular."

Miguel chuckled mirthlessly. He couldn't imagine that any of what Detective Peralta had been saying about him were good things.

"The next thing I wanted to say is that neither of you are facing any criminal charges for the murders of the cartel guards you committed. They are being written off as justifiable homicides so you won't even get fined, let alone serve jail time."

Johnny turned to Miguel and smiled.

"That's good, right Miguel?" Johnny said, reassuringly.

"What's going to happen to Kreese?" Miguel asked, quietly. Captain Holt looked at Miguel and smiled gently. He had of course heard about Kreese and his connection to not only the bomb placed in Sam's car, but also to Miguel's family's death.

"Well, he's going to stand trial. If I'm being honest, he's probably looking at the death penalty." Holt replied. Miguel's jaw dropped. He never expected that they would actually do that if they brought Kreese in. He assumed that Kreese would just serve a sentence in prison.

"So what now?" Johnny asked. Holt took a deep breath.

"Well, we have to keep in mind that you two civilians just took down a cartel big-man who has a personal connection with you. That means that the cartel is looking for revenge and retribution, and due to Kreese's connection, they'll know who to target to hurt you the most."

"The Larussos." Miguel growled under his breath. Johnny nodded and so did Holt.

"Yes, we have sent two uniformed officers to the Larusso house, as well as the house of Demitri and Aisha to escort them to the station. As a precaution, we are going to put all of you in witness protection."

Miguel's eyes widened.

"No! You can't do that! The Larussos have a business to run. And Sam, Aisha and Demitri have school!"

Holt shook his head.

"I'm sorry. It's for their own safety." Holt said, firmly. Miguel sighed.

"Well, how long will they be isolated for?" Miguel asked. Holt sighed.

"I don't know. I'm not gonna lie to you. It could be a while. We can only release them when there is no risk of harm to them at all. It could be days. Weeks. Months. Years."

"YEARS?!" Miguel shouted. "There's no way I'm making my friends live in isolation for years! There must be another way!"

Holt sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I wish there was. Unfortunately, this is the way it works. It sucks but until the whole upper level of the cartel is taken down, you and your friends will need to stay in federal protection, somewhere in the country."

Miguel's mind raced. There had to be a better way. A way where he wasn't ruining his friends' lives. It took him several moments, but finally, an idea sprang to his head. Miguel looked straight at the Captain.

"Hey, Captain, you said that my friends and I would be in captivity until the top level cartel associates are taken out, right?" Miguel asked. Captain Holt nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I was thinking about the events of the past couple of weeks a lot. As far as the cartel knew, I had gone down to Mexico to murder Kreese. I then gunned down at least 15 cartel associates on my way to him. I'm an unhinged maniac on a suicide mission. Then, when cartel reinforcements finally arrive, I am already gone and so is Kreese, with no one knowing that he is alive other than the cartel thugs who have bullets in their brains."

"Yeah, so?" Captain Holt asked. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Well, if they think he's dead, they're gonna want to have a funeral for him, you know, out of respect. And if Kreese is as high up in the cartel as he says he is, the funeral is bound to be attended by all of the cartel's top associates."

"Right, and you want the FBI to conduct a RICO operation to capture all of the associates? It's not that easy." Holt said. "First of all, the funeral is obviously going to be on Mexican soil, so we have no jurisdiction there. We can't conduct an operation on their soil, and even if we could, that kind of operation takes months of planning. The funeral is bound to be in the next week."

Miguel shook his head.

"I'm not talking about a fully-fledged LAPD or FBI operation." He murmured. "I'm talking about said unhinged lunatic blowing up the whole cartel."

Johnny and Holt looked at him, their eyes wide and their jaws hanging out at what Miguel had just said.

"I'm sorry. Did you just say that you wanted to go after the biggest cartel on the planet, all alone?" Holt stammered. Miguel clenched his jaw and nodded.

"Yeah. It doesn't have to be with the LAPD's blessing. If I'm captured, the LAPD can claim no knowledge of me.""

"And what if you're killed?" Johnny snapped, worriedly. Miguel looked at him and shrugged.

"If I'm killed, I'll make sure the entire cartel goes down with me." Miguel replied, determined. "I'm not an LAPD officer so quite frankly, I'm doing this either way. I'm really just giving you guys a heads up for common decency. I'm not letting my friends ruin their lives by living in isolation because of a personal vendetta I have."

Captain Holt looked at the determined expression on Miguel's face and he sighed.

"Fine. What are the terms?" He asked. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Not much to say, really. I go to Mexico, to Kreese's funeral. I have access to LAPD weapons and firearms. I take out the entire cartel, or die trying. If I'm killed in the process, so be it. If I'm captured, the LAPD can deny any responsibility over me and can forget about me. So, Captain, what do you think?"

"I think… let's do it…"

**Hey, so basically, when writing a story, I tend to start planning a month or so in advance. Therefore, I was just wondering what kind of a story you guys would like to read next? Bear in mind, this story was my first ever Cobra Kai story so the next few will be A LOT better as I am still learning. Are there any pairings or couples in particular that you would like to see a story about, and are there any plot lines that you guys would like to see? There is still a long way of this story left, but I like to plan in advance, and I will give you guys some options closer to that time. Just want to hear ideas now.**


	29. Chapter 29

"Woah, woah, woah! Are you crazy?!" Johnny shouted at Miguel as they were led out of the Captain's office and into the LAPD armory for Miguel to take any weapons he needed for the mission. He had no idea why the LAPD were being so trusting of him, but Johnny being a veteran and them just bringing in the second-in-command of the cartel definitely helped. "You're just gonna blow up the leader of the cartel?"

"Yup." Miguel replied as he walked through the armory and threw a bunch of guns and grenades in his bag. "Since you tossed my last grenade, I got to stock up."

"So you're going down to Mexico and you're gonna start a war?" Johnny snapped.

"No, I'm gonna finish one." Miguel replied. Johnny sighed and put his head in his hands in frustration and fear.

"Okay, let's say you go down there and you're successful in this little suicide mission. You take the cartel leader out. Someone else is just gonna step up and take his place." Johnny stated. Miguel shrugged.

"Then I'll take him out." Miguel replied.

"You can't because you just went on a _suicide_ mission, or do you not understand the meaning of those words?" Johnny exclaimed. "Look, Miguel, the only way to do this is to take out the entire cartel."

"Oh, what a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?" Miguel remarked, sarcastically.

"I'm serious." Johnny said. "We're gonna need a lot more than grenades."

Miguel turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry. We?" Miguel asked. Johnny scowled at him.

"Yeah, we. You better believe I'm coming with you." Johnny growled. Miguel turned to face him and to Johnny's extreme shock and surprise, Miguel had tears in his eyes.

"You're staying here." Miguel stated, firmly.

"Miguel, I…" Johnny started but Miguel interrupted him.

"Please." Miguel begged. "You and I both know that I'm not coming home from this mission. If you're not staying for me, then do it for Robby. You have another son, Johnny. You abandoned him once. Don't do it again."

Johnny also had tears in his eyes at this point. He embraced his student tightly.

"Be safe." Johnny said, weakly. Miguel chuckled and nodded.

"I'm an unhinged 18 year old, holding handfuls of grenades, and trying to blow up the biggest cartel in the world. What could go wrong?"

With that, Miguel heaved the bag over his shoulder and walked out into the night. Later that night, Johnny parked outside the Larusso house. He was about to tell the Larussos about everything that was going on. He knocked on the door and Daniel opened the door. Johnny took a deep breath and stepped inside…

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"Wait, so you got Kreese?" Daniel asked, surprised. Johnny had just explained the whole series of events that had occurred in Mexico to Daniel, Amanda, Sam, Aisha and Demitri, and they were very confused.

"Yeah, he's in LAPD custody now." He said. "He'll stand trial and be sentenced to a massive sentence for what he did. He's being charged with the murder of Miguel's family, attempted murder when he strapped the mom to Sam's car, and large-scale drug trafficking from his affiliation with the cartel. He's going to get what he deserves."

"That's great." Daniel said, relieved. "So it's over?"

"Not quite. Soon." Johnny murmured. He took a deep breath. "Look, when we agreed to team up, it was for one reason: for keeping us safe. All of us, and that includes Miguel Diaz, who's out in the streets right now I don't know where."

"Yeah, what the hell's he doing? I thought he was coming back to the team after the Kreese shit blows over?" Daniel said. Tears welled up in Johnny's eyes and everyone was taken aback by the sudden emotion in their normally emotionless sensei.

"Johnny… where's Miguel?" Amanda asked, terrified after seeing the look on Johnny's face.

"For as long as the cartel is active, none of you are safe. The cartel are going to want retribution for what we did to Kreese. The only solution would be to take out the entire cartel. He thinks he can blow up the whole cartel himself. He thinks he can fix this by himself, but all he can do is get himself killed." Johnny murmured. Everyone was speechless. No one knew what to say. Miguel was gone, and chances are they would never see him again. Around a minute was spent in total silence as the group absorbed what Johnny had just told them, but after that time, it was Sam who finally broke the speechless, motionless silence. She stormed over to Johnny and slapped him across the face. HARD. Tears were streaming down her face at this point as she grabbed a surprised Johnny by the collar of his shirt.

"HOW COULD YOU LET HIM DO THIS?!" Sam screamed at him, sobbing. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM SAFE!"

All Johnny could do was look down in shame.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He whispered, letting Sam shove him backwards. At this point, the group finally got over their shock, and Daniel and Amanda stood in front of Sam and held her back. Daniel looked at Johnny with a heavy expression on his face and sighed.

"So what now, Johnny? We're supposed to just say sayonara and forget all about him?" Daniel asked. Johnny took a deep breath and shook his head.

"No. We need to stop him before he gets killed." Johnny said.

"What if he can do it?" Demitri asked, suddenly. "What if he can get to the cartel who did all of this to him?"

"He can't." Sam snapped, sniffing back tears. "He's out on his own with no support."

"We could support him." Demitri said. Johnny looked at Demitri and shook his head.

"Look, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you guys about." Johnny said. "Miguel's been there for all of us when we've needed it most. We can't just turn our back on him. Look, I need everyone on board if we're going to pull this off. We need to go down to Mexico, find Miguel and stop him before he gets himself killed…"

Within a day, all of them were in Mexico…

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Miguel took a deep breath as he stopped walking outside a house. Miguel smiled to himself. Inside the gates was probably his only friend he had in the whole city, and probably one of the most useful allies he had: it was his aunt, Elena, someone he had grown up right around the corner from, but moved to Mexico around the same time as when him and his mom had moved to the States. Even better and more ideal was the fact that Elena was a member of the National Intelligence Secretariat - the foreign security agency of Ecuador, the CIA equivalent of Ecuador.

Miguel clenched his jaw and, hiding in the trees so as to not be seen, he scaled the wall of the ten foot gate. After successfully climbing over, he snuck around to the back door and jimmied the lock. He was completely silent and it was 5 in the morning so his aunt was probably still asleep. He tiptoed up to the bedroom, where his aunt was sleeping, and then placed a hand over her mouth to wake her up but so she wouldn't shout in surprise when she saw him. Sure enough, she leapt to her feet as she woke up but she relaxed when she saw him.

"Miguelito." His aunt Elena said, a worried look on her face. "People are looking for you."

"Who?" Miguel asked.

"Well, everyone. The cartel, the Mexican government. Your name is on the kill list. What are you doing here?" She asked. Miguel took a deep breath.

"The cartel took everything from me, and as long as they're alive, my friends are in danger. I can't let that stand." Miguel said, quietly but firmly.

"What do you want me to do?" Elena asked.

"I need to stay here for a couple of days, if that's okay." Miguel asked.

"Of course." Elena replied. "Anything else?"

Miguel nodded and pulled out three identical phones from his bag. They weren't his phones, but rather the ones he had found on both Kreese, Silver and two of the cartel associates he had taken out.

"I think these phones are part of a batch." Miguel explained. "The IMEIs are only 12 numbers apart. There must be more phones from the same series being used right now by cartel associates of the people I got these from. Can you help me?"

"Not from here, but I have a tech guy at our embassy." She said.

"Well, they probably get new phones every week or so we have to be quick." He said. She nodded and took the phones from him. She then took a deep breath and then shuddered.

"You should really take a shower." She said. "I have some of my ex's clothes in that drawer. They should fit you."

Miguel chuckled and stood up, walking into the bathroom.

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Johnny walked out of the motel room they had rented, and he unlocked the trunk of his car. Reaching under a fabric cover, he pulled out a concealed duffel bag. As he locked the car, he turned around to see Daniel facing him.

"What do you got there?" He demanded. Johnny's heart dropped. He was trying to deliver supplies to Miguel to help him on his mission, but the others and Daniel in particular were extremely against this. Daniel was in Mexico to try and talk Miguel out of doing it.

"Mind if I take a look?" He asked. Johnny reluctantly handed over the bag to Daniel, and he opened it. He first of all pulled out a bundle of cash that was in one of the side layers. "Well, I know this isn't for you. Or this." He said, pulling out a fake passport with Miguel's face in it. "Where is he?" Daniel demanded.

"I don't know." Johnny murmured. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Okay, where are you supposed to deliver this then?" He asked.

"Nowhere." Johnny replied.

"Johnny, what are you trying to do?" He growled.

"She was just a nurse!" Johnny shouted, referring to Carmen of course. "She did X-Rays! But I brought her family into this fucking Karate world!"

"Johnny, it wasn't your fault. What do you want me to say?"

"Don't say anything!" Johnny yelled.

"Then what do you want me to do?" Daniel asked gently.

"Bring her back!" He demanded. Daniel sighed.

"I wish I could, but I can't." Daniel said.

"Then finish the cartel." Johnny growled.

"We can't do that either." Daniel stated.

"Since when?!" Johnny shouted. "You never say that! This Karate war NEVER should have heated up as much as it did! Her death was both of our faults! You and me! But we survived, and now you're saying there's nothing we can do for her but you're just not willing!"

"I AM WILLING, BUT WE CANNOT LOSE ANYONE ELSE!" Daniel bellowed back. "Do you hear me?! So tell me where he is unless you want him dead, too…"

**Hey, so basically, when writing a story, I tend to start planning a month or so in advance. Therefore, I was just wondering what kind of a story you guys would like to read next? Bear in mind, this story was my first ever Cobra Kai story so the next few will be A LOT better as I am still learning. Are there any pairings or couples in particular that you would like to see a story about, and are there any plot lines that you guys would like to see? There is still a long way of this story left, but I like to plan in advance, and I will give you guys some options closer to that time. Just want to hear ideas now.**


	30. Chapter 30

Miguel turned off the shower tap and looked at himself in the mirror. He barely recognised the face staring back at him. What had he become? Some kind of hunter? Assassin? But the worst thing was that then and there, he had never felt so at peace. It was like he was made for a battlefield. Suddenly, his thoughts were cut off when he heard a knock on the house front door. Miguel, still slightly wet from the shower, quickly put on a bathrobe and hid and watched as Elena went and opened the door. Miguel's eyes widened as he saw Sam at the door. Johnny had eventually relented and told Daniel where Miguel was staying, and they all knew that Sam was their only chance of convincing Miguel to pull out of the mission so they let her go to the house alone, with the others staying in the car.

"Can I help you?" Elena asked Sam.

"I hope so, yeah." Sam said. "I'm looking for Miguel Diaz."

Elena quickly looked at Sam, and then looked away again. Sam nodded. Her question had just been answered.

"So you know him." Sam pointed out.

"Knew him." Elena corrected. "He's my nephew. But I haven't heard from him in months."

"Well, if you do hear from him…" Sam said.

"I won't." Elena snapped. "Who are you anyway?"

"Uh, Samantha Larusso. A friend of Miguel. He's gone AWOL." Sam said. Elena raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry… Ahwhol?" She asked, faking confusion.

"He's missing." Sam explained. "Can I at least leave you my contact information in case you hear anything?"

"I said there's no point." Elena snapped, and she started to close the door. Eventually, seeing the pleading look on Sam's face, she sighed. "Fine." Elena relented, opening the door for Sam to come in. "Write something."

Sam followed Elena inside and Elena handed her a notepad. As Sam looked around the apartment, she noticed a small puddle of water on the ground and her eyes widened. Someone else had clearly been showering in the apartment as Elena was bone-dry.

"Here." Elena said, passing Sam the notepad. Sam wrote her name and number down and nodded at Elena.

"You'll let me know, right?" Sam said. Elena nodded.

"I won't see him, but if you do, tell him I said to fuck himself." Elena snapped. "He'll know why."

With that, Sam left the apartment and when Elena shut the door, Miguel came out of his hiding spot.

"She's pushy." Elena remarked. Miguel sighed.

"Fucking Johnny. Sold me out." Miguel murmured. "You find anything with the phones?"

Elena nodded and passed him a file. They then walked into the kitchen and opened the file.

"The numbers you gave me… they were already dead. So my tech guy tried the next hundred numbers. Look."

Miguel looked at the map and his eyes widened as he saw that the hundred numbers were all in the same compound. That meant that the whole cartel was gathered in one location.

"Where is this compound?" Miguel asked.

"Just outside Juarez." She replied. "Two floors, high walls, guarded. You'll never get in."

"I'm gonna need your car." Miguel replied.

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Miguel walked into the parking lot and he unlocked Elena's car. Suddenly, stepping out from behind the car was Sam. Miguel sighed.

"So, you found me. Congratulations." Miguel remarked.

"I don't think it's wrong what you're doing. In fact, I'm sympathetic..." Sam said.

"Good for you." Miguel snapped.

"But you have to stop." Sam demanded.

"Now you're losing me." Miguel joked.

"You're being hunted, Miguel. There's a kill order out. This is a suicide mission." Sam cried.

"That's what you say." Miguel said.

"And that's if the cartel leadership is even in Juarez at all." Sam said. Miguel didn't reply and Sam realised something. "You know where he is." Sam realised.

"No." Miguel replied, stoically, shaking his head.

"Miguel! Don't do this!" Sam shouted.

"What?" Miguel asked, not losing his steady, serious tone.

"It's too dangerous." Sam cried.

"Yeah, you said that." Miguel commented.

"I can't let you take that risk!" Sam yelled.

"Here's the thing. It's not up to you!" Miguel shouted back. "I was stupid enough to join Cobra Kai the first time! I was stupid enough to come back to karate when you asked me, so I witnessed my almost-death and the slaughter of my family. And I have never, ever been so convinced of what has to happen now! So if you've lost your way or nerve, fine. What you need to do now is get out of my way."

"Miguel… I'm sorry." Sam whispered. Suddenly, the doors to the parking lot swung open and Daniel and Johnny stepped inside. Miguel groaned in annoyance.

"Oh, great." He muttered. "Really, Sam, really?"

"I'm sorry." Sam said again.

"Miguel, please just come with us. We don't want to have to take you by force." Johnny said, pain etched in his face. Miguel scowled at him.

"Why couldn't you have just fucking listened to me and stayed in California?" Miguel growled before getting into a fighting stance. He tried to fight off both grown men but fighting two trained karate senseis at once was impossible, especially given that they taught him everything he knew so they could anticipate every step. Miguel eventually took drastic measures. He knew he needed to buy himself time to get away, but as long as both senseis and Sam were standing, that wouldn't happen. Miguel pulled out a gun from his ankle holster, a blank gun, mind you, so it wouldn't kill anyone, but they didn't know that. Fear temporarily flickered in their eyes, but after a couple of seconds of Miguel not pulling the trigger, they assumed he wouldn't do anything. They thought wrong. Whipping the pistol downwards, Miguel shot Johnny in the thigh, causing him to cry out in pain and fall backwards.

"JESUS CHRIST, MIGUEL!" Sam shouted, running towards them. "YOU SHOT HIM?!"

Miguel looked at a pain-consumed Johnny and then looked at Sam.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. It's a blank gun. Means he isn't going to be long-term injured from this. It is gonna hurt like a son of a bitch though."

Daniel started walking towards Miguel again and Miguel raised the gun at him too. At this point, Sam tried to pull Miguel away, but he spun around and grabbed her by the neck, choking her.

"For once in your life, you need to listen!" Miguel growled. "Go. Home."

With that, Miguel walked out of the parking garage, and into the night…

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Within 24 hours, Miguel was at the cartel compound in Juarez. He perched on a balcony not too far away, and he silently scoped into his binoculars and counts the number of guards, every guards comings and goings. However, he needed a better look if he wanted to truly go through with the plan and take all of the guards out.

Meanwhile, the others had just arrived back in the motel after their failed recovery mission, and Johnny collapsed on the bed. Although he knew his leg would be just fine - it wasn't even bleeding - it still hurt and throbbed like holy hell. Nobody dared say anything as they sat in the small motel room. Suddenly, the silence was broken as Daniel's phone rang. He raised an eyebrow and picked up the phone.

"Hello? Robby?"

Johnny's head whipped around at the mention of his son, and Daniel walked towards him.

"Robby wants to talk to us, in private. Can you get up and walk?" Daniel asked. Johnny nodded and the two of them walked outside to get privacy from the teenagers.

"Hey, Robby, what's up?" Johnny asked once they were in the clear. Johnny and Daniel then noticed rare tears in his eyes as he turned on his facetime camera.

"What happened?" Daniel asked, slightly worriedly. The kid had been through pure hell during his lifetime, and the move out of state with his mom was supposed to be like a fresh start.

"My mom died last night." Robby whispered. Johnny and Daniel's hearts dropped and they gasped. "She went to sleep, and she never woke up. They say it was a massive stroke."

Johnny and Daniel looked at each other. They were absolutely floored in shock.

"Can I come stay with you?" Robby asked, suddenly. "Either of you. I've been crashing with a friend up until now, and I…"

"Yeah, of course. Come stay with either of us." Daniel said. They had a quick phone call with him before hanging up. Once they were off the phone, Daniel pulled up the Flights app on his phone and started scrolling through the listings of flights from Mexico to L.A and eventually clicking on one.

"All right. I can get us two tickets on the next flight out from Baja. It takes off in a couple of hours, so we need to leave as soon as pos…"

"I'm not coming." Johnny interrupted him. "At least not yet."

Daniel looked at him in shock.

"You're… you're not?" Daniel stammered. Johnny shook his head.

"I still have unfinished business here. Robby needs at least one of us there, and Miguel needs at least one of us here."

"Really? Because last I checked when Miguel found out you were here, he shot you in the leg!" Daniel exclaimed. Johnny, who was near tears, shrugged.

"I'm sorry. I can't just desert him here. I wouldn't just be betraying him, but I'd be betraying her as well." Johnny whispered, once again thinking about Carmen. Her death had messed him up much more than he let on, but for Miguel's sake, he forced himself to ignore the pain. "I brought Miguel into this world, it's my responsibility to keep him safe."

Daniel eventually nodded.

"Fine." Daniel relented. "But you need to come home soon. You saw how Miguel took his mom's death. Robby's gonna need both of our support."

Johnny nodded.

"I will." Johnny agreed. "But Daniel, one more thing?"

"What?" Daniel asked. Johnny sighed.

"You need to bring the kids home with you." Johnny said. "Today was just me, you, Sam and Miguel and one of us got shot. Throw in an entire cartel… I don't like those odds."

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Miguel was hard at work now. He had less than a week to build something that normally takes months to make. As he daisy chained wires together, he was surprised his hands weren't trembling. I mean, it wasn't every day you built a bomb big enough to level an entire compound, with no experience whatsoever! Well, not no experience. In his insanely rough childhood, he had unfortunately been forced by a certain father to help make many explosives before, but never make one completely alone. But that was a story for another day.

Elena watched him as he worked, a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Your girlfriend left you a message." Elena said. "To call her. She sounded upset."

"Well, she's used to getting her way." Miguel snapped.

"I don't think it was that." Elena said. She then walked around and looked at the progress he had made so far. "This is it, huh? Pretty big."

"It's got to be." Miguel replied as he attached two wires together.

"How do you get it to the cartel?" Elena asked.

"I don't." Miguel replied. "The cartel comes to it…"

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Daniel and Johnny had just finished telling the group about what had happened with Shannon Keene, and by the end, they had convinced everyone to come back home. Well, almost everyone. Sam sat in the corner of the room, processing all of the information she had just been given. She felt… cheated. Cheated out of adolescence. Cheated out of her teenage years. Her senior year. They had all suffered so much loss, and if she felt this way, she couldn't imagine how people like Miguel and Robby were feeling.

"I'm not going home." Sam stated, determined. They had lost so many people, and she wasn't going to lose Miguel - the person she loved most in the world - too.

"Sam, I…" Daniel started.

"No." Sam snapped. "Think about what Miguel's been through for us. He's put his life on the line countless times for us and although now the stakes have been raised, we owe him the same. I don't care if you guys are going home. I'm staying.

"Sam, you can't…" Daniel started again, but Sam cut him off again.

"And besides, let's be honest. Miguel is too far gone for all of us to be able to talk him down. If anyone's gonna do it, it's going to be me or Johnny, so we need to stay."

Daniel, who had just finished packing his duffel bag in a rush, sighed and then turned to Johnny.

"You keep her safe, okay?" Daniel demanded. Johnny nodded.

"We'll be back before you know it. WITH Miguel…"

**Hey, so as you guys have probably guessed given I'm writing about it, I'm a HUGE Cobra Kai fan and I stayed up to watch Season 3 right when it was released. So I was wondering, what parts of season 3 do you think I should incorporate in this story. I have in my mind decided on a few things that I am going to make similar or different to season 3, but I want to hear you guys' opinions.**


	31. Chapter 31

A week later, Miguel had finally finished making his bomb. It was large enough to level the whole compound, and after Kreese's death, all of the upper level of the cartel were staying in. However, Miguel now had a bigger problem. How the hell was he going to get into the compound to place the bomb?! He had studied the movements of every single one of the compound's guards and he knew that he didn't have much time to slip in and plant the bomb at all. By his calculations, based on the size of the bomb, he had to be inside the inner building of the compound and plant the bomb. Then, somehow, he had to manage to sneak out of the compound before exploding the bomb.

Finally, after endless preparation, the night of the mission finally arrived. Miguel had packed the bomb extremely compactly in a narrow tube and he packed it in his backpack. After saying a quick goodbye to his Aunt Elena, Miguel quietly snuck out of the house and into the streets. The house he was staying in was around a 5 minute walk away from the cartel compound so he made the journey relatively quickly.

Miguel stood a couple of feet away from the compound, gripping a silenced pistol in his hands and feeling the bomb in his backpack. He just hoped to God he didn't get shot in the back during his sneak-in, triggering the bomb and blowing him to smithereens. Miguel took a deep breath and pulled out the picture that the 6 rebels had taken in Okinawa. He was doing this for them. For as long as the cartel was still active, none of them were safe, and it had forced him to become this ruthless monster. His eyes lingered slightly on Sam, who was standing at the far edge of the photo, and he put it in his chest pocket, close to his heart. He was coming home. So help him God he was coming home. Miguel's fingers curled around the trigger of his silenced gun as he advanced towards the compound and saw the first few guards.

PISH! PISH! PISH!

To Miguel's surprise, the sound that the silenced guns made when being fired and impaling their target was extremely quiet, fortunately for him. No one noticed as Miguel picked off the 3 guards who were at the front gate. Gritting his teeth, Miguel stepped over the bodies and further into the compound. To his shock, there were no guards between the compound's front gate and the inner building. So, against the odds, Miguel made it to the spot he needed to go, and he planted the bomb. Phase 1 of the plan was complete. Now, he just needed to get out of there. And that is where things went horribly wrong…

As Miguel turned to leave the room, he made a grave mistake. He accidentally stepped in a zone tracked by a motion camera. At that moment, the high security set in and all of the lights in the compound turned on at once, illuminating the building, and a red siren and alarm started going off in the room he was in, letting everyone in the cartel who was sleeping in the floors above know he was there.

Miguel swore in anger and horror. He grabbed his gun tightly and prepared for an inevitable disaster. He started making his way towards the exit but was quickly stopped by three cartel thugs. Although Miguel managed to use his hand-to-hand combat karate skills to take out all three thugs, it had bought the rest of the cartel time to make it over to him. Soon, Miguel was outside, hiding behind a tower, firing cover fire at the advancing cartel, causing them to hesitate. Miguel knew that he was practically surrounded now. He was a sitting duck. He was being advanced on by most of the cartel, and he knew that in a couple of minutes, all the high-level officials would be evacuated from the compound. That left him one option if he wanted this to end tonight. Miguel opened his backpack and pulled out the remote detonator. He could detonate the bomb now, ending the cartel once and for all. However, he wasn't far enough away from the compound for it to not affect him. If he detonated the bomb now, he would surely die…

Miguel took a deep breath and he made up his mind. He was going to do it. He was going to sacrifice his life for the lives of the people he loved most. It wasn't even a hard decision. But there was one thing he had to do first. Miguel took out the phone in his pocket and quickly dialled…

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"Where are you, Miguel? Where are you?" Sam whispered, as her and Johnny scoured Google Maps for any possible location Miguel could be. They were practically blind in their search because they didn't have any information about where the cartel was. All they could do was wait for either Breaking News, or if Miguel's aunt called them to tell them where he was. They had already checked again at her place and Miguel definitely wasn't there.

Suddenly, their silence was broken when Johnny's phone rang. He picked it up and nearly dropped it when he saw the name on the screen.

"Oh my God." Johnny murmured.

"What?" Sam asked, confused.

"It's… it's Miguel." Johnny stammered. Sam's jaw dropped. They were both briefly silent before Sam broke the silence.

"Well, answer it and put it on speakerphone!" She exclaimed. "He could need us!"

Johnny nodded and answered the phone.

"Hello?" Johnny said.

"Sensei!" Miguel yelled into the phone. Johnny and Sam's blood immediately froze when they heard Miguel's side of the line. Or more precisely, the background noise. Gunfire lit through the air and hit all around Miguel. Thankfully, he was temporarily covered, but he was about to be overrun.

"Miguel, what's going on?!" Johnny shouted. "Where are you?! What's happening?!"

"Sensei…" Miguel said in an eerily calm voice. "I don't have much time left."

"Where are you? What's going on?" Johnny asked again. Miguel sighed.

"Look, in about a minute, it's gonna be all over, so I might as well say my goodbyes now." Miguel said. Johnny and Sam looked at each other, petrified. "Sensei, I can't even begin to thank you, man. You helped pull me out of the pits. You built me into the man I am today, more than my biological father ever could have done. You gave me strength, courage and determination I never would have found without you."

"You turned my life around, Miguel." Johnny choked out, his mouth suddenly extremely dry. "You gave me a second chance at not only being a father, but at being a human. You taught me more than I could have ever taught you."

"I… I love you, Sensei. Goodbye." Miguel whispered.

"Bye, Miguel." Johnny replied, tears rolling down his face. Miguel nodded and lifted the phone back to his ear.

"Sam? You there?" Miguel asked. Sam took the phone from Johnny and walked onto the balcony of the hotel room.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." Sam stammered. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Sam, I, um… I don't know what to say. I know I must sound like a broken record by now, but I'm really, really sorry. After my mom died, I wallowed in my own pit of depression and I wouldn't let you help me. You were so amazing, you tried so hard, but I wouldn't let you help me. I was never there when you needed me. I couldn't be, because I was so fucked up I didn't know how to be a good boyfriend, a good friend or a good person. I used you as an emotional punching bag for all of my frustration and anger. You didn't deserve that. You didn't deserve any of that."

At this point, Miguel's voice was thick with tears, and him and Sam could both tell the end was near.

"Miguel, where are you?" Sam asked, weakly.

"Too bad I didn't come to this whole realisation sooner, huh?" Miguel remarked. "Too little too late. I can't take back the pain that I caused you. All I can do is apologise. Apologise for not being there. Apologise for all of the emotional turmoil I put you through. I'm sorry I wasn't the man you deserved. I'm so sorry."

"Miguel, please, tell us where you are." Sam begged. Miguel glanced around at the advancing cartel troops. They were almost on him, which meant that the high-level cartel officials were about to be evacuated. Miguel's hands gripped the detonator and he took a deep breath. Now or Never.

"I'm sorry, Sam." Miguel whispered. Sucking up the last of his courage and strength, Miguel closed his eyes and pressed the detonator…

The last thing Sam saw was a massive explosion and inferno of flames erupt a couple of miles away before rivers of tears clouded her eyes and she eventually passed out. There was no mistake of it. Miguel was gone…

**Hey, so as you guys have probably guessed given I'm writing about it, I'm a HUGE Cobra Kai fan and I stayed up to watch Season 3 right when it was released. So I was wondering, what parts of season 3 do you think I should incorporate in this story. I have in my mind decided on a few things that I am going to make similar or different to season 3, but I want to hear you guys' opinions.**


	32. Chapter 32

**30 days later…**

" _It is a proud day for not only America, but the whole world in their war against drugs. Today, the bombing operation regarding the Juarez Cartel has been officially closed. Fearless efforts from the LAPD have eliminated all of the top officials, rendering the former biggest cartel in the world inactive at last. A special thanks are in order in particular for LAPD Captain Raymond Holt and LAPD Detective Peralta, who spear-headed the mission, without whom the mission would have failed."_

"Turn it off, Daniel." Amanda said as she walked into the living room and saw Daniel watching the news on TV. It had been 30 days since Miguel had taken down the cartel and sacrificed his life to do so. They had already had a funeral and memorial for him, which both the Cobra Kais and the rebels attended, the Cobras even agreeing to a temporary peace treaty so they would be able to pay respects to their friend and former champion.

"This is bullshit!" Daniel snapped at the TV. "The LAPD are taking all of the credit when they did absolutely nothing, and Miguel gets no recognition!"

"It was part of the deal Miguel made with the LAPD, you know that." Amanda said softly. "He agreed that the LAPD have no responsibility for him if he was captured or killed, and no recollection of him if his mission succeeded. It was to keep us safe."

Daniel sighed and nodded.

"I know. It's just… it's not fair." Daniel grumbled. "Miguel was a good kid. A hero. This isn't how it should have ended."

"I know, Daniel. I know. But you have to turn off the TV now. Sam's coming downstairs." Amanda said. Daniel swiftly nodded and turned off the TV, just as Sam came down the stairs. Sam hadn't been doing so well at all, as could be expected. She had barely eaten at all in the month Miguel had been gone for, and she would barely get more than a couple of hours of sleep every night. Hearing her scream in pain and wake up from a nightmare every night shattered Daniel and Amanda's hearts. Sam felt guilty. They all did. Miguel had sacrificed himself to keep them safe, and although it was his decision to do so, there was a lot of survivor's guilt in the air.

"Hey, Sam." Daniel said, gently. "How are you feeling today?"

Sam didn't answer. It had been the same thing every day since Miguel's death. Sam would come downstairs, grab a banana and walk straight back to her room, locking herself in until the next morning. She didn't talk to anyone. Didn't smile or laugh anymore. After everything that had happened from the school fight, to Miguel in a coma, Robby in juvie, Kreese's Cobra Kai taking over the valley, the various ambushes that Cobra Kai had done to them, Kreese killing Miguel's family, and now finally this… Sam didn't know how she was going to live after this.

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Hawk walked across the empty cemetery. The sun roasted down on him as his feet crunched against the leaves. He eventually made it to where he needed to go and he sat down, his back resting against the headstone of Miguel Diaz.

"What up, El Serpiente?" Hawk said. "So what's it like up there? You know, chilling with the Big Man himself? You're probably doing pussy, boring-ass things right now like hanging out with your family. I tell you, if I ever get there, I'm going to be banging a different chick every ni… No, I can't do this."

Hawk interrupted himself, dropping the badass act that was clearly not the right fit for him anymore. Miguel's death had forced him to look at his life and he knew that he needed to make things right. He had been brainwashed by Kreese for too long. It was time to step up and be a man and fight for the right side, consequences be damned.

"I'm going to make sure that you are never forgotten." Hawk stated, quietly but determined. "I will have your All-Valley trophy immortalised. I'll have your gi retired. Hell, I'll fight for them to rename the tournament to the _Miguel Diaz Karate Tournament._ I don't care what it takes. You would do it for me."

Hawk looked at the grave of his former best friend and he took a deep breath. Although he had been at the funeral, this was the first time he was speaking to his friend alone since his death.

"I miss you, man. I miss you so much." Hawk whispered. "Back before this Karate war bullshit, you were the only person who always had my back. You were my life sensei. I'm so sorry for everything that went down after the school fight. I'm never going to forget everything you've done for me, and I'm going to make things right with Demitri, with Miyagi-Do, all of it. I swear…"

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That night, Johnny, Sam and Daniel decided that it was finally time to start clearing away Miguel's stuff. He had been gone for a month, so there was absolutely no chance this was some sick joke. A nightmare that they would soon wake up from to see Miguel's smiling face again. When they walked into Miguel's trailer, there wasn't much stuff already, and they laid three boxes on Miguel's bedroom floor: **KEEP** , **DONATE** and **THROW OUT**.

"I marked these boxes so things would be easier to separate." Daniel said. Although he was miserable about Miguel's death, he needed to stay strong for Sam and Johnny, who were feeling much, much worse than he was.

"Thanks, man." Johnny croaked. Daniel put a comforting hand on Johnny's shoulder.

"Look, we don't have to do this now." Daniel said. "It can wait. There's no timetable."

"No." Johnny replied. "We should do it now, or… I'm afraid I'll never do it."

Johnny got up and walked over to Miguel's dresser, and Sam walked up his cupboard. Johnny looked at all the framed photos Miguel had of the group, and the multiple pictures he had with Johnny in particular: the Dee Snider concert, their training, the All Valley, among others. They looked so happy in every single photo. Once again, Johnny felt his heart throb with sadness. Losing Miguel had been like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and stomped on right in front of him, only made worse by the fact that because Robby was now living with him after the death of his mom, he had no time to mourn his student.

"Look, it's his All-Valley trophy from Sophomore year." Daniel said, pulling it out of the cupboard. "You should keep this, Johnny."

Johnny took the trophy and chuckled.

"Between what had happened before and after the weekend, that was one of the best and worst weekends of my life." Johnny remarked. Tears then started rolling down his face again and he put his head in his hands. "I should've hugged him more." Johnny cried. "You know, it was always a fistbump, or a high-five, but I should've given him more hugs. You know, the last time I saw him before his mom died, he was complaining about this long forensic assignment project he had for school. And I just told him to, you know, get back at it and get on with him. He's worth it. It was the perfect time for a hug."

Johnny's voice broke down into tears at the latter part of the sentence but he forced himself to continue.

"But for whatever reason, I gave him a pat on the back. And that's that. And now he's gone." Johnny murmured.

"Miguel loved you, Johnny." Sam said, breaking the near complete silence she had been entranced in for the past month. "He would have followed you through the gates of hell without a second thought. He did what you told him to do. Said what you told him to. He developed your strength and your grit and, not to mention, your badassness."

Johnny nodded and put his head in his hands. Daniel, who was listening to their conversation and was struggling not to cry himself, opened Miguel's wardrobe and started taking clothes out and putting them in the box marked Donate. Sam noticed a familiar sky-blue sweatshirt and she quickly took it out of the box.

"No, don't donate that." She said, tears spilling down her own cheeks. "I want it. Back when Kyler was bullying me after we broke up, seeing him come over and stand up for me several times, wearing this sweatshirt, it was like my own personal superman had arrived."

Sam put the hoodie on her and chuckled at how oversized it was on her small frame, especially in the arms.

"God, his arms were long." She remarked, chuckling a watery laugh. Sam collapsed into silent cries and the rest of the night was spent drowning in tears, but eventually they finished sorting through Miguel's stuff.

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Later that night, Johnny was sitting in Miguel's trailer, cleaning up the extreme mess that was hidden beneath the surface. Alcohol bottles: chips packets, fast food wrappers were all crammed inside drawers and cupboards in the trailer.

"Hey, Miguel, why am I still cleaning up after your mess?" Johnny snapped, as he pulled out a half-eaten hotdog from a cupboard. "This is foul. And this is at your home!"

Johnny then pulled out Miguel's favourite alcohol hip flask and sighed. He opened it and took a swig from it.

"Enough in there for two?" A voice asked from the entrance of the trailer. Johnny spun around to see Sam standing there. He relaxed a little and nodded. Sam walked in and sat opposite him.

"Yeah, you know, I'm just trying to catch up on my day." Johnny said, pointing to the picture of Miguel that was lying next to him.

"What are you talking to him about?" Sam asked. Johnny sighed and looked at Miguel.

"Hey, Miguel, I'm sorry I tried to fight you in the parking lot." Johnny said. He then took a deep, shaky breath. "And I'm sorry I wasn't there that day." Johnny whispered. "I should've been by your side. I swore I'd always have your back but this time… I failed. Maybe I could have, uh, I don't know. But I'm gonna regret it for the rest of my life, 'cause I love you."

Sam and Johnny had tears running down their faces again.

"Let me try." Sam said, picking up the photo of Miguel and looking at it. It was a picture of Miguel and Johnny taken the day after Miguel could finally walk again, and Miguel looked as happy as if world peace had just been achieved. She smiled at the photo.

"Hey, Miguel." She whispered. "Not a day goes by that I don't miss you. I will never forget the impact you had on me and my life."

She then turned to Johnny and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Wow, this is really fun." She remarked, sarcastically. Johnny also wiped away tears and chuckled.

"Yeah." Johnny agreed, rolling his eyes.

"I know what he'd say." Sam stated.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Shut up and pass the Cheetos." Sam replied. Johnny laughed and pulled out two bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos - Miguel's favourite food in the world - and handed Sam one.

"Now that you mention it." He said. Sam laughed and groaned. She ate one and coughed.

"Oh… Horrible." She coughed, tearing up for a combination of the spicyness, and how much it reminded her of Miguel. Johnny and Sam spent the rest of the night reminiscing about Miguel, and their favourite and least favourite memories of him. They talked about his whole life, and by the end, they felt like they were finally ready to start the process of life after Miguel's death.

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The next morning, Daniel was finally restarting training for the rebels. They had taken the month off to recuperate after Miguel's death, but they were finally ready to get back into it. Cobra Kai were currently without a leader, but they made it pretty clear that they weren't about to back out of the fight.

Daniel, Johnny, Aisha, Demitri, Sam all stood in the Miyagi-Do backyard, along with the newest member of the team: Robby. Because he was living with Johnny, he had decided to join the rebels. But there was another reason too: ever since he had gotten back to California and he had heard about Miguel's death, he knew that this would finally be his chance to be with Samantha without a third person interfering. He needed to get close to Sam as he knew that she was in an extremely vulnerable state, and that could make it a lot easier for him to be with her.

"All right, guys! Fall in!" Johnny shouted. The original 3 and 1 new rebels lined up, preparing for training to begin. However, before they could get started, they saw someone enter the dojo and walk towards them. Their jaws dropped. It was Hawk, alone, but for some reason, he didn't look as threatening. He had dyed his mohawk back to blue, which had been the color he had it before he fell off the rails and became evil and dyed it red. Robby stormed over to him and grabbed him by the neck, choking him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Robby shouted at him. Johnny and Daniel's eyes widened at Robby's suddenly aggressive behavior. He seemed unhinged. They quickly ran over and dragged the two guys apart.

"What do you want, Hawk?" Johnny asked.

"I… I want to join you." Hawk said. Everyone's eyes widened and they looked at Hawk in shock.

"Oh, come on! He's obviously lying!" Robby exclaimed. "He's just trying to join now and snake us later."

Hawk shook his head, furiously.

"It's not like that, I swear. Look, I know I have been a huge jerk to all of you, Demitri in particular, and you have no reason to trust me. But I want to help you. I swear, it's not a play. It's not a joke. It's completely legit."

"Why should we believe you?" Daniel asked, reasonably, as Johnny continued to hold back his son from lunging at Hawk. Hawk sighed and took a deep breath.

"Look, I'm not trying to compare our situations over the past month. Miguel's death hit me really hard but I can't imagine what it must have been like for you. But if anything, losing Miguel made me realise how badly I've been living my life, and how ashamed he'd be of me if I kept on living this way. So please, I want to join you. Let me help in the fight against Cobra Kai."

Johnny and Daniel looked at each other.

"Should we do it?" The two senseis asked the other students. Sam and Robby voted no; Aisha voted yes.

"Demitri? What do you think? Given your more personal rivalry with Hawk, it's up to you."

Demitri took a deep breath and looked at Hawk.

"He should join us." Demitri eventually said. Hawk's head shot up and he looked at his former rival. Hawk smiled faintly and nodded to him in gratitude.

"Demitri, are you crazy?!" Robby exclaimed. Demitri shook his head.

"No, I am completely sane, thank you very much." Demitri snapped. "But having Hawk on our team and trusting him… it's what Miguel would have wanted, isn't it?"

"You're damn right, it is." An extremely familiar voice came from the entrance of the dojo. It was the voice of a champion. The voice of a fighter. An extremely beaten down fighter mind you, but a fighter. To everyone's shock but delight, they all turned to see Miguel standing in front, bruises and gashes on every inch of his face, but he was very much alive. "Now, I hope you guys weren't about to start training with me?"

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next chapter is going to go into what Miguel's been going through in the past month since the bomb.**

**Hey, so as you guys have probably guessed given I'm writing about it, I'm a HUGE Cobra Kai fan and I stayed up to watch Season 3 right when it was released. So I was wondering, what parts of season 3 do you think I should incorporate in this story. I have in my mind decided on a few things that I am going to make similar or different to season 3, but I want to hear you guys' opinions.**


	33. Chapter 33

**30 days earlier…**

" _I'm sorry, Sam." Miguel said, before pressing the detonator._

The second Miguel pressed the detonator, there was a moment of complete calm. All of the gunfire that was in the air quietened. He had a brief moment of peace, when he knew he was about to die. As cliche as it might sound, his life flashed before his eyes. But it wasn't his whole life: just the people he loved. He saw Carmen and his yaya; he saw Johnny; he saw Sam; he saw the other rebels.

Then came the explosion. The sound of the explosion was first, a terrible echo as if it were the anguished cry of God. Then, finally, the heat and pain came…

The heat was nothing he had ever felt before. It seared every inch of his skin, melting his eyes and boiling his blood. Miguel could do nothing but cry out in pain as he was rooted to the spot. The whole compound was collapsing and Miguel knew he had less than a second until he was crushed. That was when he finally passed out, no longer bracing for death, but embracing it… When the building came down, Miguel surprisingly didn't feel that much pain. It was just darkness. He didn't even feel himself being dragged away from the wreckage…

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When Miguel awoke, his first thought was 'Am I dead?' He couldn't tell if he was in some kind of hell. He had to be. There was no way in hell he survived that explosion, and with minimal injuries too, as it seemed. Practically his whole body was covered in burns, but other than that, he seemed to be physically all right. However, Miguel was far from okay. He seemed to be shackled to the corner of a windowless, dark basement. He had no idea where though. His answers were quickly going to be answered though. A couple of moments later, a Mexican man walked into the room and smiled at him. Miguel winced and shut his eyes as light flooded into the room. He was quickly unshackled and carried to a different room, this one a lot nicer. It had a window, and a desk with a seat on either side of it. Miguel was forced into a seat on one side of the table, and the man sat opposite him.

"Hello." The man said, calmly. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Miguel grunted in reply. The man chuckled.

"I'm not surprised. It's a miracle you survived that explosion. No one else did."

"Who are you?" Miguel asked. The man calmly tutted and shook his head.

"No, no, no. I ask the questions." The man explained, before taking out an empty glass and a bottle of water and pouring Miguel a glass. Miguel accepted it gratefully.

"Thank you." Miguel murmured as he sipped his drink. Getting so severely burned had caused him a dehydration he couldn't have even imagined.

"No problem." The man replied. "Now, I ask you, who are you?"

"John Doe." Miguel remarked in reply. The man shook his head.

"I warn you, please answer my question. If you don't, my men will hold you and ask you… a little less politely. So I ask again, for the final time, what is your name?"

"I'm sorry." Miguel replied. The man sighed and frowned at Miguel.

"That's unfortunate. And here I was hoping we could be friends." The man muttered, before signaling to two henchmen behind him. They immediately grabbed Miguel, ignoring his cry of pain as they touched his burns, and they carried him out of the room. The mysterious man followed close behind and Miguel was quickly thrown again in the windowless, cold basement. The room was tiny, no more than 2 meters by 2 meters. The man looked at Miguel.

"You had your chance." The man said. "Until you decide to comply with our questions, you eat in here, sleep in here, shit in here, die in here. I ask you one final time, who are you?"

"Hugh." Miguel eventually replied. The man raised an eyebrow.

"Hugh what?" He asked. Miguel smirked at him.

"Hugh Jorgasm." Miguel replied. The man understood Miguel's dirty joke and he rolled his eyes. He then gestured to his henchmen, who started pounding the stuffing out of Miguel for several minutes, before they let up.

"Well, Mr. Huge Orgasm, let's try a different question." The man asked, as Miguel coughed and spluttered up blood from the beatdown. "Who do you work for? CIA? FBI? Police?"

Each organisation was punctuated with a blow from one of the guards, but this time, Miguel stayed completely silent. The man sighed.

"Oh well. I wish you the best, Hugh Jorgasm." The man said, before shutting the door.

That was the last Miguel saw of that man in particular, however, his incarceration was far from over. Miguel was locked in that cellar for what seemed like an eternity, nothing to keep him occupied but the endless torture he was being put through. Loud music prevented him from sleeping, the smell of his shit and piss collecting in the corner of the room caused him to continuously throw up the minimal food he was given to survive on. He was starved of food and water, he was beaten, he was burned, he was whipped, he was swung at with bats. His open gashes from this torture was made even worse by the fact that the thugs who were guarding his room would come in every so often and piss directly on them, causing an unimaginable, excruciating pain. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that Miguel knew that time was passing, and every second passed was a second that his friends thought he was dead. How did Johnny and Sam handle his death? Did Johnny relapse into his old, drunk, purposeless ways? He hoped not. But he was powerless to do anything. He was too physically weak, and every day he was stuck in the torture chamber, he got a little weaker. Finally, after a month in captivity, Miguel finally realised something… he needed to escape if he ever wanted to see the outside world again! No one was coming to save him. If he wanted to get out, it had to be on his own…

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After another long day of interrogations that ultimately led nowhere, a shady medic and a thug were wrapping up Miguel's bandaged arm (it had been mangled at some point during the interrogation) when Miguel looked at them.

"Why am I still alive?" Miguel whispered. Their eyes widened as they heard him. It was the first time Miguel had spoken since his first day in captivity. The thug looked at him and sighed.

"You are clearly an American government agent who destroyed the entire Juarez Cartel. We are all that remain of that group. We want to know how much the government knew about us, so you are more use to us alive than dead." He replied, before leaving the room. Miguel clenched his teeth. He needed to escape. NOW!

That night, Miguel was given a tiny glass of cranberry juice with his measly meal of a slice of bread and a rotten fish, and he smirked. That was perfect for his escape plan. He poured the cranberry juice all over his bandages, soaking them crimson, biting back a groan of pain as his gashes came into contact with the juice.

"Help! I need a doctor! My arm's bleeding again!" he shouted from his cellar. A head peered through the window and saw Miguel's arm covered in blood. He realised that Miguel wasn't trying anything and actually was injured, so a doctor ran into the room. As soon as he shut the door, Miguel lunged at him and knocked him out cold. He then took the pistol out from the man's jacket. He had been silent so far so nobody knew that anything was wrong. He tiptoed out of the cellar and used the silenced pistol to take out all of the guards that were in and around his room. Miguel stumbled over to a staircase at the corner of the basement corridor, ignoring his body's cries of pain as he strained his near-dead limbs and eyes. He tiptoed up the staircase and made it to the ground floor, and eventually came to a door. It was obviously locked, and Miguel was too weak to open it himself. He collapsed on the ground. This was it. He had gotten so close, but so far. Just one door separated him from the outside world. He sighed. He would have to wait until the afterlife to see Sam and Johnny again.

NO!

Thinking about the people he loved suddenly re-energised him. He couldn't give up. They hadn't given up on him before when he was weak, and he owed it to them to show that he wouldn't give up himself. Miguel bit back all of the pain he was feeling and forced it deep down. Pain was for pussies, as his sensei would say. Miguel charged at the door and barged straight through it, knocking it clean off his hinges. The loud BANG as the door broke open had bound to have attracted attention, so Miguel needed to move fast. He was now able to gauge his surroundings. He was in a random town, somewhere in North Mexico, he could tell that much. But he could figure out exactly where later. He just needed to get away from the unmarked house he was in. Finally, God sent Miguel a blessing. A motorcycle was parked at the front of the house. Miguel grinned and sprinted over to it, jimming it on and roaring away before the people holding him could catch up. Miguel sighed in relief. He was finally out, and he could go back home. However, he couldn't see his friends just yet. He couldn't let them see him like this. It would give them nightmares. He looked like something from the last 10 minutes of Dawn of the Dead. He had several open wounds, burns and bruises all over his body. He wanted to go to the LAPD station first, so their medics could clean him up and find out he was alive before he returned home.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So that's exactly what he did. He rode the motorcycle all the way back to L.A. It turned out that he had been held captive somewhere in Tijuana, so it took him a good couple of hours to get back to L.A. He rode straight to the LAPD station, and he was immediately taken down to the hospital floor of the station. He spent the rest of the day getting stitched up, cleaned up and fed proper food for the first time in a month.

Watching him from the window of the room were three people: Detective Peralta, the Doctor who had operated on him, and his therapist Dr. Cahill. Miguel stared out of his hospital room window and he didn't notice the three arrive at the entrance of the room. The Doctor turned to Dr. Cahill and Detective Peralta and sighed.

"Look, I'm going to give it to you straight. He is lucky to be alive. 20% of his body is covered in scar tissue. Second degree burns on his back and arms. X-Rays show at least 12 fractures that never properly healed." Dr. said to the other two. Dr. Cahill's eyes widened in horror.

"Has he said anything about what happened?" She asked.

"No. I'm guessing, from the fact that he has whip marks, fist bruises and cattle prod burns, he was tortured for information that he obviously didn't have. But I'd like you to prepare yourself." The Doctor warned them. "The Miguel you lost might not be the one in that room. There's no telling how much emotional damage he has."

Dr. Cahill nodded and entered the room. Miguel smiled faintly at her, and Dr. Cahill smiled widely back. At least Miguel was still smiling, that was definitely something.

"Well, well, well, heard you blew up the cartel." Cahill remarked. Miguel shrugged.

"Nah, just their house." He replied, gruffly.

"A lot of people thought you were dead." Cahill stated. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"You?" He asked. Cahill smirked faintly.

"Me? Not so much." She replied. Miguel nodded at her. "Are you okay? I mean after a traumatic experience, you can…"

"Doc, I'm fine." Miguel interrupted, calmly, smiling at her. "I'm actually fine. I'm alive, I'm soon going to see my friends again. I couldn't have asked for it better. If anything, this experience has taught me that I don't want to die anymore."

Cahill smiled and nodded again.

"Well, I for one am glad you're back. I like having you around." She said.

"Well, I mean, this isn't it right? We can, uh, meet outside of the office? Cheetos on me." He said.

"I was thinking tomorrow, my office, 4 pm." She said. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"What? What would we talk about?" He asked. "The cartel's gone, so I mean, I'm cured."

Cahill chuckled and looked him right in the eye when she responded…

"If you really believe that, then you are crazier than I thought…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The next morning, Miguel was finally going back to Miyagi-Do. All of his wounds had pretty much healed, and were now merely permanent scars that would be on his body for the rest of his life. Despite everything he had just been through in the past month, he was nervous. What if everything had changed? What if Johnny and Daniel had split up training again? What if Kreese had completely taken over the Valley? What if Sam was dating other guys again? What if Johnny had killed himself? That last one was particularly hard to even think about, but it was a real possibility given his track record with alcohol. However, when Miguel parked outside the Miyagi-Do dojo, all of his nerves instantly vanished. Being back in the dojo, training under the two masters… it was home.

He slowly opened the back gate of the dojo and walked towards the garden. He could hear the group talking about something, and as he peered around the corner, he saw Hawk. The mohawked guy didn't seem to be attacking the rebels, and instead seemed to be joining them. Miguel smiled. He knew that guy had good in him, deep down. On the inside, he wasn't Hawk: he was Eli. Miguel listened as they debated whether to let him into the group, itching to finally greet them again, when he could finally take it no longer. He heard Demitri say 'It's what Miguel would have wanted, isn't it?' and Miguel grinned and finally came around the corner as he responded…

"Damn right it is…"

**Hey, so as you guys have probably guessed given I'm writing about it, I'm a HUGE Cobra Kai fan and I stayed up to watch Season 3 right when it was released. So I was wondering, what parts of season 3 do you think I should incorporate in this story. I have in my mind decided on a few things that I am going to make similar or different to season 3, but I want to hear you guys' opinions.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Okay, I know the story got pretty dark and off-topic, but I'm bringing it back on track now. From here on out, it's going to be back to old-fashioned, good Karate. But just saying, the point of fanfiction is to write extremely out-there, unrealistic stories, so that's what I did. But there will be karate ahead, a couple of things similar to Season 3 and a couple different. Anyways, big things ahead**

As Miguel walked into the dojo, he felt every eye on him. The whole group were astonished, and they had to pinch themselves to make sure they weren't imagining him there. Although with all of his scars, burns and bruises on his face he looked like a zombie, he was very much alive, and it left them in a complete sense of shock and astonishment. Hawk was the first to break free from the motionless silence and he ran over to Miguel, embracing his best friend.

"Man, I can't believe you're alive!" Hawk exclaimed. "This is awesome! El Serpiente and the Hawk back at last."

"Reunited and it feels so good." Miguel joked, as he bro-hugged his friend, before turning to the others. They had all finally gotten over their shock of seeing him and they were all over-the-moon. Well, all of them but Robby, who looked less than pleased to see him. Miguel felt exactly the same way though. Robby had been out of State for almost a year now, and before that, he was in juvie, so the only time Miguel had seen him since the school fight was in the park the night the rebels decided to team up. However then, Robby was practically unconscious on the ground, so this was the first time Miguel had seen him in his full glory since the school fight. Needless to say, Miguel was slightly uncomfortable as memories of the school fight came rushing back. Miguel shrugged the flashbacks off though. It had been more than a year. They both had grown.

The last person Miguel approached as he walked through the dojo was Johnny. Miguel walked over to him, grinning faintly, as his sensei stared at him in shock.

"Thought you were dead." Johnny murmured. Miguel smirked and shrugged.

"What can I say? My sensei taught me that the fight ends when I say it ends, and that means y'all are stuck with me for a bit longer. That okay with you?" Miguel remarked.

"Hell, yeah." Johnny grinned, and the two embraced tightly, hugging each other and grinning massive smiles. Robby scowled at them, his hatred for Miguel boiling more and more with every passing second. He side-glanced at Sam and saw her expression as she looked at Miguel. She clearly was done with him romantically, and had all of her focus on Miguel. Robby clenched his jaw as he glared at Miguel. That boy had taken everything from him. Losing the All-Valley, going to juvie, Johnny not being there for him while he was in juvie, losing Sam… it was all Miguel's fault. And he was going to pay…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"All right, guys, listen up!" Daniel said later that day. The group were in the Miyagi-Do dojo and they were preparing for a tough afternoon of training. Robby, Miguel, Hawk, Sam, Demitri and Aisha all lined up and got ready for training to begin. "So, we have done a lot of drills over the past couple of months, which has helped increase your strength, speed, agility and a lot more. However, all of those drills and no fight training is useless. We need to train you guys to fight, and to do that, you are going to..."

"Kick the crap out of each other." Johnny finished. Daniel shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"No, we're going to be doing some _light_ sparring, not kicking the crap out of each other." Daniel snapped, emphasising the word light. "So, what we're going to do is that we're going to start with one person, and that person can choose anyone in the group to challenge to a fight. It's basically a winner-stays-on sparring drill."

"Can we challenge senseis?" Miguel asked, looking at Johnny, who chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"No, you can't challenge the senseis." Daniel replied.

"How many points are we doing it to?" Demitri asked.

"To the death." Johnny grinned in reply. Daniel glared at his fellow sensei.

"What? No! Johnny, shut up!" Daniel exclaimed. "We'll do it first to 3 points wins. Okay, who wants to start?"

"I will." Robby snapped, walking onto the mat. Daniel nodded.

"Okay, Robby, who do you challenge? Bear in mind that if you win the fight, you can't challenge them again until you have challenged everyone else."

"I challenge Miguel." Robby said, instantly. Everyone looked at each other nervously. They knew that Robby and Miguel were definitely not on the best of terms, and having them fight one another probably wasn't the best option.

"Robby, are you sure…" Daniel started. He didn't want to ruin the team's camaraderie that they so desperately needed by creating a rivalry within the team. However, that match-up did make the most sense. Miguel and Robby were both on another level to any of the other fighters in the Valley and having them on the same team and pushing each other to be better could be their ticket to winning the final fight.

"It's fine. I'm fighting." Miguel said, gritting his teeth determined. He also had a score to settle with Robby. That boy had kicked him over the balcony. Miguel had become paralysed, told that he would never walk again. He had to relearn how to stand. He had to relearn how to walk. He had to relearn how to fight, and it was all because of Robby. Miguel fistbumped Hawk, who knew that Miguel was about to beat Robby, and then walked onto the mat.

"Miguel, are you sure? I mean, you just got back from… you know." Johnny said. Miguel nodded, scowling at Robby.

"I'm sure." Miguel growled in reply.

"Okay, guys, remember. This is for PRACTISE. I don't need either of you winding up with another injury." Johnny stated.

"Okay, remember three points wins. Watch control. Bow to each other. Begin." Daniel instructed. Miguel and Robby did so, the two boys staring daggers at each other, and then began to fight…

Miguel immediately noticed that there was no way Robby was taking it easy. As soon as the bell rang, Robby lunged at him, kneeing him multiple times to the ribs and possibly cracking one or two. Miguel stumbled backwards, coughing and spluttering. Daniel and Johnny's eyes widened at this and they immediately stepped in between the two.

"Guys, stop!" Johnny exclaimed.

"I'm calling it." Daniel stated.

"What's the matter? Couldn't keep up?" Robby sneered at Miguel. Miguel sighed. He really couldn't. He had just come back from the most traumatic experience of his life and every hit that Robby got on him landed on an existing burn, bruise or gash, causing a LOT more pain. Hawk immediately started storming towards Robby, but Miguel held him back.

"I'm fine." Miguel muttered. "Let's keep going."

"Miguel, you're injured! No one's expecting you to fight right now!" Johnny exclaimed. Miguel shook his head.

"No, I'm fighting. The whole point of Karate is to show the world you're not a pansy-ass nerd. To show toughness. To beat the living crap out of people. To not get pushed around. You taught me that, Sensei." Miguel stated.

"Wow, great lessons, Johnny." Daniel muttered under his breath, sarcastically. "Look, Miguel, this is training. You are trying to prove to anyone…"

"But I am. I am trying to prove myself to someone… to myself." Miguel interrupted. "I need to prove to myself that no pasty-ass bitch is going to push me around and get away with it. I'm fighting. Period."

Daniel and Johnny sighed, and Robby's smirk faded a little. The two senseis knew there was no changing Miguel's mind.

"Okay, fine. But Robby, calm the fuck down." Johnny snapped. Robby shrugged.

"What? It's not my fault he can't handle it." Robby remarked. Sam and everyone else glared at him. They knew exactly what Robby was doing: he was trying to goad Miguel into a fight, and it was working. Miguel was in no shape to fight anyone, least of all Robby, but he was too stubborn to back out of the fight.

"Okay, bow to each other." Daniel said, reluctantly. Miguel and Robby did that and as they did, they stared each other down. Neither of them were backing out of the fight, and neither of them were about to go easy.

The second round of the 'light sparring' fight was a lot closer than the fight. Although Miguel was slightly sluggish and was clearly in extreme pain at every blow Robby landed, he forced himself to soldier on, and he did a pretty good job. He managed to block Robby into a position where Miguel just had to deliver one final point, however in that moment, he stared into Robby's cold, unblinking eyes and was suddenly dragged back to the school fight. He paused as he felt himself back on that balcony, being kicked over, and falling for what seemed like an eternity, before crashing down onto the railing and feeling the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. He seemed to be stuck in that nightmare for several seconds and it cost him. Johnny noticed Miguel suddenly get distracted and accidentally lower his guard, and he winced as he anticipated what was about to come. Sure enough, Robby quickly noticed Miguel's hesitancy, and he took advantage of it, throwing Miguel to the ground but not stopping there. From there, Robby stomped on Miguel's face several times before everybody managed to pull Robby off of a now bleeding Miguel. Robby had reopened a gash on his face, and Miguel was bleeding a steady stream of blood.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Johnny shouted at Robby. "You trying to kill him?!"

Daniel and Sam slowly helped Miguel to his feet. He was extremely dazed from being stomped on the head multiple times by Robby, and he could tell he had a couple of loose teeth, as well as a broken nose.

"Miguel, you okay?" Sam asked, extremely concerned.

"Fine." Miguel grumbled as he slowly stood up and started to walk away from the mat. However, Robby wouldn't let him go without one final word.

"Better luck next time, Miguel." Robby called after him. "Better think twice before you challenge the big boys!"

Miguel glared at him and closed his eyes, too weak to fight Robby at this point. Suddenly, as Miguel closed his eyes, he didn't see Robby anymore. The weakness and lack of power he felt towards that boy made Robby suddenly turn into the mystery man who tortured him for a month. Miguel felt like he was back in that windowless, lifeless torture chamber, at the complete mercy of the man. That nightmare had suddenly re-energised Miguel, but in a bad way. Miguel dragged himself to his feet, and stormed towards Robby. Robby had turned his back to Miguel at this point so Miguel easily kicked him to the back of the head and sent him tumbling to the ground. However, Miguel wasn't done there. He stood on top of Robby, pounding every inch of him he could reach. Robby tried to use his hands to shield himself but it was no use - Miguel stood on his arms, pinning them to the ground and giving himself a massive target to hit at. The rest of the group were shell shocked. It took nearly 20 seconds of Miguel beating the absolutely shit out of Robby before the group finally stepped in. Johnny and Daniel pulled a struggling Miguel off of Robby, and Sam stood in front of him, preventing him from getting to Robby, who Johnny and Daniel were now helping. Everyone, even Hawk, was in shock. No one had ever seen Miguel like this before. He seemed unchained, not in control. It was like a hundred times worse than they had ever seen him before, and they were all in shock more than anything else.

Miguel saw Robby on the ground, being helped up by Daniel, and Miguel walked over to him, standing over to him.

"Better luck next time, Robby." Miguel spat, before storming out of the dojo…

**Hey, so as you guys have probably guessed given I'm writing about it, I'm a HUGE Cobra Kai fan and I stayed up to watch Season 3 right when it was released. So I was wondering, what parts of season 3 do you think I should incorporate in this story. I have in my mind decided on a few things that I am going to make similar or different to season 3, but I want to hear you guys' opinions.**


	35. Chapter 35

**So, I was wondering. A lot of people have asked me to scrap this story or put this story on pause and write my own version of season 4, being realistic and rather than going random extreme like in this story, I would keep it realistic and instead delve deep into the emotions and the events the characters will be going through, culminating in an All Valley. Obviously, as you can tell, Miguel is my favourite character so a lot of the story will be a lot about him, but I also will be diving into the perspectives of Johnny, Daniel, Sam, Robby, Tory, Kreese, Amanda, Hawk and a bunch more characters at some points.**

**So, which one would you prefer…**

**Option A - I start writing a Season 4 story and put this story on pause until I'm done**

**Option B - Continue with this story and then write the other story after, which could be in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, I don't know.**

**Please review, comment or PM with your opinion. I will leave it for a bit to gauge opinion and then tell you which one I've picked.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Hey, so I have decided to go with Option A. I am putting this story on TEMPORARY pause. I really want to work on a Season 4 fic because Season 3 just came out and I have a ton of ideas floating through my head. Don't worry, I will be back to this story when I am done as I am having a good time writing it.**

**Keep on alert on my account page for the first Chapter of my Season 4 work. Should be dropping in the next couple of days.**


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